France’s FM reiterates support for Kurdistan Region, invites PM Masrour Barzani to meet Pres. Emmanuel Macron in Paris
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Friday, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, “reiterated” his country’s support for the Kurdistan Region, as he met with top Kurdish officials during his first visit to the Middle East amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We discussed the current situation in Iraq and bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and France,” Masoud Barzani, former president of the Kurdistan Region and current leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), tweeted on Friday, after meeting Le Drian, adding that they had spoken of “ways to further strengthen such relations.”
Le Drian, in his fourth visit to the Kurdistan Region as foreign minister, was greeted in Erbil by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and other senior officials late on Thursday.
Le Drian had visited Baghdad earlier that day and met senior Iraqi officials, before flying to Erbil, where he spent the night.
Emanuel Macron invites KRG Prime Minister to France
In a meeting with KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Friday, also attended by KRG Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, Le Drian delivered an official invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to visit his country, according to a press release from the Kurdish premier’s office.
President Emanuel Macron has officially invited the KRG Prime Minister to visit France at a “suitable time,” the French minister said, as he conveyed the invitation.
Describing Le Drian’s trip to the Kurdistan Region, the French Counsel General in Erbil tweeted on behalf of the Foreign Minister, “I wanted to make this visit, which is a visit of solidarity and support.”
France has long been a friend to the Kurds, going back to the 1980s, when Danielle Mitterrand, wife of the French president, Francois Mitterrand, took a special interest in their plight. That relationship has continued for over three decades.
This perspective was reflected in the statements of Kurdish leaders who met with Le Drian. As Prime Minister Barzani tweeted, “Kurdistan has a special relationship with France, rooted in history and tested in moments of greatest need.”
Similarly, the President of the Kurdistan Region, who met separately with Le Drian, affirmed in a press conference after their meeting that Macron had played an “unforgettable” role, as France stood behind the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region and helped to break the diplomatic siege on the region following the 2017 independence referendum.
French Support for Fight against ISIS
“My visit is a support for your fight against ISIS,” Le Drian said in his press conference with President Nechirvan Barzani, as he called for a collective French-Kurdish-Iraqi confrontation against the terrorist group “without lowering expectations.”
“The Kurdistan Region and Iraq still need the support of France and the international coalition” against ISIS, the Kurdish President affirmed, hailing France’s “remarkable role and support” to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, as a “crucial member” of the anti-ISIS coalition.
The French minister expressed his “sympathy” for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, suggesting both have become “victims” of “regional tensions and crises” and “pay the price on a daily basis.”
The borders of the Kurdistan Region have become the object of intense military operations from Iran and Turkey, as both neighboring countries justify their attacks by claiming that outlawed groups are present.
French Economic and Medical Aid to the Kurdistan Region
Le Drian also expressed his country’s readiness to help the Kurdistan Region overcome the current economic crisis, which has been triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying drop in oil prices.
Le Drian announced that France will soon deliver medical support, as well as begin new economic and development projects to help the region.
“In the coming days, many crucial pieces of medical equipment will be donated [by France] to the Kurdistan Region” to fight the coronavirus, Le Drian announced in his joint press conference with the Kurdish president, who in turn, expressed his gratitude for France’s continued support to the Kurdistan Region in difficult times, particularly at this sensitive point, when the Kurdistan Region and Iraq are grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Le Drian also announced that France would fund a $15 million water system project in Duhok Province.
The French minister hailed the role of the Kurdistan Region in welcoming and sheltering refugees and noted that his country had implemented several projects in the Bardarash refugee camp in the fields of education, health, and the water system.
Most recently, the Bardarash camp, located northwest of Erbil, has become home to over 9,000 Syrians who fled to the Kurdistan Region, following Turkey’s cross-border assault into northeastern Syria last October.
Relations between Erbil and-Baghdad
The current state of negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil was discussed in Le Drian’s meeting with the Kurdish Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
In late June, Qubad Talabani led a KRG delegation to Baghdad to discuss outstanding issues, and he briefed Le Drian on the results of his visit.
Prime Minister Barzani, for his part, suggested that France and the broader international community could play a “positive role” in bringing the KRG and the Iraqi federal government closer in resolving issues on the basis of Iraq’s 2005 constitution.
“We have not asked for anything that contradicts Iraq’s constitution,” Barzani said, as he also explained that the Kurdistan Region “would reject anything that is less than our constitutional rights.”
Editing by Laurie Mylroie