Politics

Kurdistan President congratulates French President-elect Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron, a youthful former investment banker, handily won France’s presidential election on Sunday, defeating the staunch nationalist Marine Le Pen after voters firmly rejected her far-right message and backed his call for centrist change.

Baxtiyar Goran 2017/05/08 16:29

kurdistan Kurdistan France Erbil Paris Emmanuel Macron

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Region President on Monday sent his congratulations to the newly-elected French President for his victory on Sunday.

Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region, in a statement congratulated the French President-elect Emmanuel Macron on his victory and reiterated the friendship between Kurdistan and France has deep roots.

On Sunday, Macron, the country’s youngest President-elect at 39-years-old, won with a comfortable margin of 66.06 percent to 33.94 percent of the vote.

In a recent interview with French publication Le Figaro, President Barzani said the time for an independent Kurdish state has come and he hoped the next French President will be supportive.

“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,” President Barzani added.

There are historical relations between the Kurdistan Region and France, and such relations have developed during the Presidency of outgoing president Francois Hollande.

On September 13, 2014, Hollande visited the Kurdistan Region for the first time when the Islamic State (IS) was only less than 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from Erbil, the Region’s capital.

On January 2, 2017, Hollande visited Erbil for the second time and met with President Barzani and visit the Peshmerga frontline on Zartk Mountain, near Mosul.

Editing by Ava Homa