The agreement between Russia, Syria, Iran and Iraq on the creation of an information center to coordinate the fight against ISIL in Baghdad has received an extensive amount of media coverage in Iraq. As for the legal aspect of this step, local legal experts are convinced that the creation of such an entity doesn’t require the approval of the national Parliament, since the information center lies in the jurisdiction of the General Staff of Iraqi armed forces.

A number of Iraqi political figures and experts have already voiced their approval of this step since this center will be in the lead in the domain of accumulating and analyzing all information about the state of the fight against ISIL to provide the four above mentioned states with the most accurate information possible. Thus, the deputy head of al-Anbar province stated that the government welcomes any regional and international efforts that would allow Iraq to eliminate the jihadi threat.

Chairman of the Committee on Defense and Security of the Parliament also believes that the four states will be able put an end to ISIL faster than the “failed international coalition led by the United States”. He stated that he believes in Russia as a partner and as a political player that will continue supporting Iraq.

According to the Sawt al-Iraq electronic journal, this brainchild of the four countries will help Baghdad in its fight against terrorism and ISIL. According to this media source the joint effort may lead to a qualitative shift in the strengthening of Iraq and the stabilization of the entire Middle East region.

A local politician and journalist Muhammad Abdul Jabbar al-Shabut, who spent decades abroad while opposing the previous Iraqi regime, believes that there’s some major shifts to be observed in the Middle East that can be attributed to Russia’s involvement in the course of events. The Russian Federation is among the states that are creating the information center in Baghdad. All the founder states, except for Iraq, have not been a part of the US-led coalition, therefore Iraq can play a role as a bridge that connects the East and West in the fight against Islamists.

Muhammad Abdul Jabbar al-Shabut is convinced that Russia is moving much quicker than the United States, since it’s a common belief in Iraq that the international coalition headed by Washington has been fighting ISIL in a lethargic fashion, therefore, the four above mentioned states have a chance to “lead by example”.

Events in the region in recent weeks, according to the Iraqi expert, have been developing at a faster pace than before, while an increasing number of Western leaders have changed their positions on the role that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can play in the future.

This Iraqi journalist has recently noted that there’s a growing sense of terrorist danger in the world, and an Iranian-Russian-American rapprochement can save the world from a new Nazi-like threat that is hiding under the disguise of fighting for Islam.

Yuri Zinin, Senior Research Fellow at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.