Shafaq News/ The Islamic Dawa Party expressed shock on Tuesday over comments made by Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, describing Saddam Hussein as "the bloodiest dictator of the 20th century."

A spokesperson for the party told Shafaq News Agency, "Zakharova's provocative statements have reignited the pain of hundreds of thousands of families of victims of Saddam Hussein's regime from all communities."

The spokesperson added, "These remarks reveal a complete ignorance of Iraq's history and the events that transpired. International conflicts should not come at the expense of distorting facts and whitewashing the images of tyrants and terrorists."

He emphasized that Iraqis received these irresponsible statements with deep lament, especially coming from an official of a country with good relations with Iraq. 

The spokesperson called on the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to formally protest these comments, which harm the positive relations between Iraq and Russia, and demanded an official apology to the Iraqi people.