[3] The Iraqi decision did not come entirely as a surprise since it followed an extended visit by Abdul Karim al-Shaykhli to the Soviet Union and East Germany from 20 to 31 March 1969.

[4] Discussions amounted to both countries tightening relations and taking further "steps for deepening cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields".

[7] After the Gulf War in 1990 to 1991 and during the occupation after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, diplomatic relations had been continued to a limited degree.

[8] In August 2014, the German government announced that it would be supplying weapons to Kurdish Peshmerga forces, which were fighting ISIL.

[10] By December 2014, in support of the American-led military intervention against ISIL, the German cabinet approved the deployment of up to 100 Bundeswehr troops to northern Iraq to train Peshmerga forces.