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
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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“
Jordan-Syria coordination council will strengthen ties, King Abdullah says
- Nations’ leaders speak after deal signed to establish new body
- Ahmed Al-Sharaa praises Jordan’s support for Syria
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan and Syrian Arab Republic interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa spoke on Thursday about bilateral relations and regional developments.
The telephone conversation came after the two countries this week signed an agreement to establish the Higher Coordination Council, which aims to strengthen collaboration in key sectors such as water, energy and trade.
The king said the new body would institutionalize cooperation and maximize opportunities for both nations. He also reiterated his support for Syrians and the country’s security, stability and territorial integrity, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Al-Sharaa praised Jordan’s support for enhancing Syria’s international presence after both the EU and US this month announced the lifting of Assad-era sanctions on the country.
The two leaders also emphasized the need to increase efforts to stabilize southern Syria and improve border security.
Sweden to charge militant over Jordanian pilot burnt to death in Syria: prosecutor
- Prosecutors plan to charge the Swedish citizen with “serious war crimes and terrorist crimes in Syria“
STOCKHOLM: Prosecutors said Thursday they plan to indict a convicted Swedish militant for his suspected involvement in the 2014 capture of a Jordanian pilot in Syria and burning him to death in a cage.
Sweden’s Prosecution Authority said in a statement it planned to charge a 32-year-old Swedish citizen on May 27 with “serious war crimes and terrorist crimes in Syria.”
The man, Osama Krayem, has already been sentenced for his involvement in the 2015 attacks in Paris and the attacks in Brussels a year later.
Summer comes early for Iraq with 49 degrees Celsius in Basra
- In Iraq, summer temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius, especially in July and August
BAGHDAD: Summer has come early for Iraq this year with temperatures hitting 49 degrees Celsius (topping 120 degrees Fahrenheit) in the southern city of Basra on Thursday, the national weather center said.
“It is the highest temperature recorded in Iraq this year,” weather center spokesperson Amer Al-Jabiri told AFP.
He said the early heat was in contrast to last year, when the temperature was “relatively good” in May and “it only began to rise in June.”
In Iraq, summer temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius, especially in July and August, and sometimes reach these levels earlier.
On Sunday, two cadets died and others were admitted to hospital with heat stroke at a military academy in the southern province of Dhi Qar, authorities said.
The defense ministry said nine cadets “showed signs of fatigue and exhaustion due to sun exposure” while waiting to be assigned to battalions.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the deaths of the two cadets.
Iraq is one of the five countries most impacted by some effects of climate change, according to the United Nations. It has also seen a prolonged drought and frequent dust storms.
Israel army issues evacuation warning for 14 areas of north Gaza
- The army told residents that it was operating with intense force
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on Thursday for 14 neighborhoods in the northern Gaza Strip, including parts of Beit Lahia and Jabalia.
The army told residents in an Arabic-language statement that it was “operating with intense force in your areas, as terrorist organizations continue their activities and operations” there.
A similar warning for parts of northern Gaza was issued on Wednesday evening in what the army said was a response to rocket fire.
It said that one “projectile that was identified crossing into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip was intercepted” by the air force.
It later announced three more launches from northern Gaza, but said the projectiles had fallen inside the Palestinian territory.
Israel has ramped up its Gaza operations in recent days in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Hamas.
The territory’s civil defense agency said Israeli attacks had killed at least 19 people on Thursday.
Turkiye’s Erdogan says Damascus must keep focused on Kurdish SDF deal
- Ankara views the SDF and its factions as a terrorist group
ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Syria’s government must keep focused on its deal with the Kurdish, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under which it is to integrate into the Syrian armed forces, pressing Damascus for its implementation.
Speaking to reporters on a flight from Budapest, he said Turkiye, Syria, Iraq and the United States had a committee to discuss the fate of Daesh militants in prison camps in northeast Syria, which have been run by the SDF for years.
Ankara views the SDF and its factions as a terrorist group.
“We are especially following the YPG issue very, very closely. It is important for the Damascus administration not to take its attention away from this issue,” his office on Thursday cited him as saying. The YPG militia spearheads the SDF.
He added that Iraq should focus on the issue of the camps, as most women and children at the Al-Hol camp there were from Iraq and Syria, and that Iraq should repatriate its nationals.
