Iraq – Conversation between Jean-Yves Le Drian and Nechirvan Barzani, President of Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region (30 March 21)

Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, spoke with Nechirvan Barzani, President of Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region on March 30.

The minister reaffirmed France’s wholehearted solidarity with the Kurdish regional government in Iraq following the rocket attacks on Erbil on February 15. In this context, he underscored the need to strengthen cooperation between the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government in order to identify the perpetrators of this attack, and more broadly, to ensure the security of all Iraqis.

Jean-Yves Le Drian underscored his attachment to Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and reaffirmed France’s longstanding commitment to the security and stability of Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region. He reaffirmed France’s determination to continue its efforts in the framework of the Global Coalition against Daesh, which just met at the ministerial level. He underscored, in the face of the risk of Daesh’s resurgence, the need to continue the fight against the terrorist group alongside our local and international partners and to continue our security cooperation with the Kurdish regional government.

Lastly, the minister discussed the ongoing strengthening of our cooperation with the Kurdish autonomous region in all areas, as reflected in particular by the recent mission by the Crisis and Support Center in the town of Halabja, where France will lend its support to the hospital dedicated to the victims of the chemical attack of March 1988.