President Barzani hopes next French President will recognize independent Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – In a recent interview with French publication Le Figaro, the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani said the time for an independent Kurdish state has come and he hopes the next French President will be supportive.

While Barzani highlighted the “excellent” military cooperation between the Kurdish and French troops, he called for more political support.

“Our priority is what the Kurdish people will decide,” he said. “I ask France to maintain its support for the Kurdish cause.”

“I humbly ask for the next French President, when the time comes, to recognize an independent Kurdistan or at the very least, not oppose the process,” he added.

In the interview, President Barzani spoke of the war against the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul and the progress on the western side of the city.

He did, however, caution the threat of IS would remain unless the root causes for its existence in the region are addressed.

The President called on the international community to maintain its support for the reconstruction of Iraq and reconciliation efforts, especially in Mosul.

“Counter-terrorism operations in Mosul will not end once IS is defeated. There will be much to do still,” he said.

Barzani cited Baghdad’s lack of commitment to article 140 of the constitution as one of the reasons the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will hold a referendum in its provinces and potentially in disputed areas.

“Issues in these regions would have been solved a long time ago if Baghdad would have respected its obligations to carry out a census and hold a referendum for the sake of stability in the region,” he stated.

The Kurdish leadership has called for an independence referendum before the end of 2017.

It has also outlined it would discuss the matter with Baghdad and neighboring countries, protecting the right for self-determination of the people of Kurdistan.

“Our referendum is an absolute right for Kurds,” President Barzani added. “We need it to have a clear mandate from the people to engage in serious negotiations with Baghdad.”

“The people of the Kurdistan Region have the right to decide on their future,” the President previously said.

“We want to divorce Baghdad in a peaceful way. For a century, we have tried to preserve a unified Iraq. We were rewarded with chemical attacks, the destruction of 4,500 villages, and tens of thousands of deaths,” he explained.

Addressing a contentious point on the independence referendum, President Barzani stressed all ethnic and religious groups belong in disputed areas such as Kirkuk.

“Kirkuk historically and geographically is part of Kurdistan,” he said. “It does not mean it belongs exclusively to Kurds.”

President Barzani also reminded that 250,000 Kurds lived in Mosul before IS’ invasion.

Moreover, he raised concerns regarding Baghdad’s ability to rebuild Mosul and manage the different ethnic and religious minority groups in the city.

Kurdish officials repeatedly complain Baghdad has not treated the Kurds as real partners in the country, but rather as visitors.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany