Macron calls for Iraq to stay out of regional conflict, stresses sovereignty

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday emphasized France’s support for Iraq’s territorial integrity and stressed the importance of keeping the country apart from the escalating tensions in the Middle East.

“I really believe that Iraq should be apart from this war and preserved in this sovereignty,” Macron told Rudaw’s Alla Shally at the EU headquarters in Brussels, stating that they "stand with Iraq and with its sovereignty and its territorial integrity."

At the beginning of his remarks, President Macron spoke about the death of a French soldier who was killed in Erbil last week following a drone attack targeting a joint Peshmerga-French military base that also left several personnel injured.

"I want to pay tribute to our soldier, Major Frion, killed by the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq,” Macron said.

His remarks came a week after Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Alpine Hunter Battalion of Varces died and several other French soldiers were injured in a drone attack targeting the joint Kurdish military base about 60 kilometers southwest of Erbil.

Macron issued a stern warning to groups and militias that target French forces, saying: “What we ask is total clarity in the fight against any militias targeting French people and French soldiers, because these people are targeting de facto the Iraqi's interests and they are spoiling the interest of Iraqi people.”

He also warned that "all the groups interfering in this war are taking a great responsibility."

Regarding the presence of his country’s forces in the region, the French president noted that France has been present in Iraq since 2015 to fight "terrorist groups and Daesh," referring to the Islamic State group, as well as to support Iraqi sovereignty. He also said that they are "very proud" of this commitment in Baghdad and Erbil.

France maintains hundreds of troops in the Kurdistan Region, where its forces train Peshmerga fighters as part of the global coalition against the ISIS.

On his relations with the leaders of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, Macron stated: “I had the occasion to speak several times with [Kurdistan Region] President [Nechirvan] Barzani as well as with Prime Minister [Mohammed Shia] al-Sudani.”

Since the start of Iran’s war with the US-Israel coalition on February 28, the Kurdistan Region has been targeted by repeated drone and missile attacks by Iran and its backed groups.

Attacks by Iraqi armed groups across the country, including in the Kurdistan Region, have intensified since late February, with hundreds of drone and missile strikes leaving seven dead and 35 injured, according to Rudaw monitoring.