Baghdad and Paris Stress Diplomacy to Ease Regional Tensions
Baghdad and Paris emphasized the importance of reducing regional tensions and returning to diplomacy during talks between Iraq's national security adviser and France's chargé d'affaires.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iraq has reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue and diplomacy as the preferred means of resolving regional conflicts, as senior Iraqi and French officials stressed the need to reduce tensions and promote peace and stability across the region.
On Sunday, Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Aboudi received Benoît Comborieu, Chargé d'Affaires of the French Embassy in Iraq, for talks on bilateral relations and regional developments.
According to a statement from the Iraqi National Security Adviser's office, the meeting focused on the friendly relations and cooperation between Iraq and France, as well as ways to strengthen ties in a manner that serves the shared interests of both countries and their peoples.
The two sides emphasized "the importance of reducing tensions in the region and returning to dialogue and diplomacy as the best approach to resolving the region's current conflicts."
Al-Aboudi said Iraq supports dialogue as the means to resolve disputes and consolidate peace in both the region and the wider world.
"Iraq supports the path of dialogue to resolve crises and establish peace in the region and the world," al-Aboudi said. "This is aimed at achieving stability and development that serve countries and peoples, rather than wars and conflicts that lead only to destruction, devastation, and setbacks."
The national security adviser also said Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is working to build national institutions capable of exercising independent sovereign decision-making.
According to al-Aboudi, the objective is to establish "a strong state that maintains balanced relations with all countries in accordance with Iraq's supreme national interests and the interests of the Iraqi people."
For his part, Comborieu reaffirmed France's support for Iraq across various sectors.
He also expressed support for the Iraqi government's program, particularly its efforts to enhance economic development and security while laying the foundations for building a strong and developed state.