The airstrike campaign against the Islamic State in Syria has made Russian President Vladimir Putin increasingly popular in Iraq.

Having just completed the final brushstrokes on his portrait of President Vladimir Putin, artist Mohammed Karim Nihaya expressed his hope that Russia would quickly launch operations to eliminate ISIS in Iraq.

A few months ago, like many other Iraqis, Mr. Nihaya was deeply worried about developments in Syria, where the Islamic State (IS) was gaining the upper hand against the government forces. IS had declared its intention to expand its territory and establish an "empire" in Iraq and Syria.

However, after Russia began its airstrike campaign, confidence returned to the Iraqi people. "Russia achieved significant results in just over a week of airstrikes, while the US and its allies had been bombing for over a year without success," AFP quoted Nihaya as saying.

Iraqi artist Mohammed Karim Nihaya is finishing a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in his studio in Baghdad on October 7. Photo: AFP.

Russia began airstrikes against ISIS in Syria on September 30th. The US and its allies argue that Russia's primary objective is to eliminate and weaken rebel forces fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, not terrorist groups. However, Iraqis, particularly Shiite Muslims, have complete faith in Moscow's campaign. They view Russia, which has supported Syria and Iran for years, as a more natural friend than the US, which has been involved in the Iraq war for eight years.

"We're not expecting any international coalition. We just want Russia to act. When they come, we'll slaughter sheep to welcome them," said Mohamed, an unemployed young man.

Putin is my idol.

Portraits of Putin with a resolute and cold expression are appearing more and more frequently on the streets of Iraq. Many people call him an honorary citizen of Iraq. They even jokingly say that the Russian president's name proves he has Iraqi roots.

According to this joke, President Putin's father was a Shiite Muslim who worked as a grocery merchant. He brought figs to Iraq during his trading trips. The fruit's Arabic pronunciation is "tin," and from then on, he was known as "Abu Tin."

After World War II, President Putin's father went to the Soviet Union and married a blonde Russian woman, having a son whom he named Abdelamir. However, this name was difficult to pronounce, and over time, friends and relatives began calling him Vladimir.

On social media, many Iraqis are using photos of the Russian president as their profile pictures.

"We will treat Putin as an Iraqi because he loves us more than our leader," said Mohammed al-Bahadli, a student in Najaf, the Shiite Muslim capital.

"(ISIS) attacked us because they considered us 'rafidha' (garbage). Meanwhile, Mr. Putin, an Orthodox Christian, protected us. We thank him. Thanks to him, we have the confidence to stay in Iraq," Saad Abdallah, an Iraqi small business owner, expressed his support for President Putin.

According to Vov.vn