BAGHDAD: France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that Iraq should not be pulled into conflicts in a turbulent Middle East during his first visit to the country, which has suffered from decades of instability.
Jean-Noel Barrot will also visit Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour to push for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iraq, an ally to both Tehran and Washington, has been navigating a delicate balancing act not to be drawn into the fighting, after pro-Iran factions launched numerous attacks on US troops based in Iraq, as well as mostly failed attacks on Israel.
“It is essential for Iraq not to be drawn into conflicts it did not choose,” Barrot said in a joint conference with his counterpart Fuad Hussein.
He praised the Iraqi government’s efforts to “preserve the stability of the country.”
“We are convinced that a strong and independent Iraq is a source of stability for the entire region, which is threatened today by the conflict that started on October 7, and Iran’s destabilising activities,” Barrot said.
There have been no attacks by pro-Iran Iraqi factions for several months, while Iraq is now preparing to host an Arab League summit and the third edition of the Baghdad Conference on regional stability, which Paris has been co-organizing with Baghdad since 2021.
Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy with Iran while engaging in talks over its nuclear program.
Fuad Hussein urged for successful talks “to spare the region from the danger of war,” adding that “there are no alternatives to negotiations.”
Barrot met Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad, and he is expected later in the autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq to meet with Kurdish leaders.
Sudani said he welcomed “an upcoming visit” of French President Emmanuel Macron to Iraq, which would be his third trip to the country.
Iraq and France have been strengthening their bilateral relations in several sectors, including energy and security.
France has deployed troops in Iraq as part of the US-led international coalition to fight the Daesh group, which was defeated in Iraq in 2017, although some of its militant cells remain active.
Baghdad is now seeking to end the coalition’s mission and replace it with bilateral military partnerships with the coalition’s members, saying its own forces can lead the fight against the weakened militants.
“We cannot allow ten years of success against terrorism to be undermined,” Barrot said, adding that France remains ready to contribute to the fighting.
Barrot’s regional tour will also help “prepare for the international conference for the implementation of the two-state solution” that Paris will co-organize in June with Riyadh, the French foreign ministry said.
Macron said earlier this month that France planned to recognize a Palestinian state, possibly as early as June.
He said he hoped it would “trigger a series of other recognitions,” including of Israel.
For decades, the formal recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen as the endgame of a peace process between Palestinians and Israel.
French FM says Iraq should not be dragged into regional conflicts
https://arab.news/8kz7j
French FM says Iraq should not be dragged into regional conflicts
- “It is essential for Iraq not to be drawn into conflicts it did not choose,” Barrot said
- He praised the Iraqi government’s efforts to “preserve the stability of the country“
Gaza needs unrestricted access to aid, Qatar PM tells Davos
LONDON: Humanitarian aid for Gaza is still being restricted, and Qatar is working with its partners to ensure that changes, the country’s prime minister told Davos on Tuesday.
“The humanitarian situation (in Gaza) may be better than last year, but it still needs a lot of intervention. A lot of humanitarian aid is still not allowed to enter because of restrictions, and we need to have unrestricted access for humanitarian aid for the people,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman told President and CEO of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende.
“We are working together very closely with our colleagues in the United States, Egypt, and Turkiye in order to ensure that there is a mechanism that supports the technocratic government that’s just been established in Gaza, in order to enable them to help the people and deliver a better life for the people,” he said.
The premier’s comments come a week after US Envoy Steve Witkoff announced the start of phase two of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, with a technocratic Palestinian government established in the territory.
The 15-member Palestinian body will be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority, according to a joint statement by mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye.
On Friday, an official from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is far from over.
“For the Palestinians in Gaza, their lives continue to be defined by displacement, trauma, uncertainty, and deprivation,” Olga Cherevko said.
She said that aid restrictions are preventing Gazans from accessing the help that they desperately need.
“Due to various impediments and restrictions placed on organizations operating in Gaza and specific types of supplies that could enter, we could basically only apply Band-Aids to a wound that can only be closed with proper care,” she said.
Restrictions on both aid agencies and critical supplies must be lifted, early recovery must be funded and enabled, and donor support must continue, Cherevko added.
Speaking about the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, Sheikh Mohammed said that the country had been through a very difficult 15 years and that such turmoil would always have consequences.
“We know that it’s not easy to come to a country after a civil war and to start rebuilding the institutions, state and systems. It’s a difficult job, and the Syrian government needs help, and they’ve been asking for this help, and we are all trying to help them reach that stage,” he said.
“The beauty of Syria is its diversity, the social fabric of Syria that has been there for centuries, not something new. I believe that everyone in Syria wants to see a stable Syria, wants to ensure that they are treated equally and their rights are protected, and it’s their right.”
The prime minister said the international community should help the Syrian government build a state, institutions and an inclusive system that extends to all Syrians.
“You cannot build a state without building a proper institutional system that includes everybody,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Syrian government announced a new four-day truce after a previous ceasefire between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces broke down.
In a statement carried by state media, the Syrian presidency said that “a joint understanding has been reached between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces on a number of issues concerning the future of Hasakah province,” adding that the SDF has “four days for consultations to develop a detailed plan” for the area’s integration, beginning at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
It said that if the agreement is finalized, Syrian forces “will not enter the city centers of Hasakah and Qamishli … and Kurdish villages.”
Turning to the Qatari economy, the prime minister said the country is uniquely positioned when it comes to the supply of energy.
“This revolution that you see in AI and technology will require (energy) to power data centers that they will need. Qatar is at the center of this progress and development,” he said.
He added that the country aims to help domestic companies compete globally and is planning new platforms to support this effort later this year.
