France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot will meet with officials in Baghdad on Wednesday, April 23, as part of a regional tour to boost a solution of two states to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Barrot, who also visits Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is on a tour to help “prepare for the International Conference for the implementation of the solution of two states” that Paris coorganizes in June of Withadh.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said at the beginning of this month that France planned to recognize a Palestinian state, possible in early June. He said he hoped that “a series of other recognitions”, even from Israel. Iraq has long recognized a Palestinian state, but has never recognized Israel and has no formal relations with him.
For decades, the formal recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen as the end of the game of a peace process between the Palestinians and Israel. On his first trip to Iraq, Barrot will meet with his counterpart Fuad Hussein and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Baghdad before heading to the autonomous region of the north of the Kurdistan to meet with his leaders. The visit to Baghdad will allow France to prepare for the third version of the Baghdad Conference on regional stability, which Paris has been co -organizing with Baghdad since 2021.
It also aims to confirm France’s commitment to the stability of Iraq’s role and its form “in the regional balance matrix. In addition, it will allow “France reaffirmation to continue the fight against” the Islamic State group, especially “in a transition context in neighboring Syria” and Washington’s decision of half of the number of its troops in Syria.
France has deployed troops in Iraq as part of the international coalition led by the United States established to fight, which was defeated in Iraq in 2017, Altheghiegh, some of its jihadist cells remain active. Baghdad is now trying to end the mission of the coalition and replace it with bilateral military associations with members of the coalition, saying that their own forces can lead the fight against the weakened jihadists.
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