Special envoy to Beirut
Expected at the end of last year in Baghdad, Emmanuel Macron went to Iraq on Wednesday in the wake of his trip to Lebanon.
A visit, his first since 2017, of only a few hours, which was surrounded, on the French side, with great discretion for security reasons.
On Wednesday morning, the Head of State left Beirut and its breathless faith system to find another, just as failing, on the banks of the Tigris.
The streets are also rumbling against the corruption and ineffectiveness of its government, representing a weak central state in the face of the appetite of regional powers, Iran in particular.
Hence the words of Emmanuel Macron in favor of a
"sovereignty"
regained for Iraq in the face of
"foreign interference"
.
"Iraq has been going through a time of challenges for several years, marked by war and terrorism"
, declared Emmanuel Macron at the start of his visit.
"You have a transition to lead"
, and France wishes
"fully"
support it, he added after an interview with the President of the Republic, Barham Saleh.
The new prime minister, Moustapha al-Kazimi, seeks to take a clean path, away from the objectives of Iran and the United States which clash in his country.
The pro-Iranian Iraqi Shiite militias have again recently launched rockets against the airport - the seat of an American mini-base - and the Green Zone, the ultra-protected sector of the capital which houses the United States embassy.
Baghdad is faced with
"the challenge of multiple external interference, whether it is several years old or more recent,"
said the French president, without citing any country name.
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"We do not want to be a space of confrontation, but of stability and moderation,"
said Prime Minister al-Kazimi, hoping that France and Europe play a more important role
"for the restoration of stability in the region ”
.
Macron was to discuss with Iraqi leaders the launch,
"in conjunction with the United Nations, of an initiative to support a process of sovereignty"
of Iraq, the outlines of which are still unclear.
As in Lebanon, where Paris pushes the authorities to observe
"neutrality"
vis-à-vis the Syrian conflict, France encourages Baghdad to
"dissociate itself from its neighborhood"
, had already affirmed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le. Drian, during his last visit in July.
Allusion to the significant influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Iraq.
But the policy of maximum pressure exerted by the United States on Tehran and its regional allies - Hezbollah in Lebanon, and certain Iraqi Shiite militias - does not facilitate the task of Baghdad, already confronted with the fall in oil prices and a crisis. Covid-19 epidemic wreaking havoc.
The common fight against Daesh was also on the menu of the talks.
Emmanuel Macron assured that France would continue
“alongside”
Iraq the fight against the jihadists, which
“is not over even if we have defeated the caliphate”
of the Islamic State (IS) group in 2017.
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France, which withdrew 250 soldiers in March, remains part of the international anti-jihadist coalition led by the United States.
ISIS still has sleeper cells attacking Iraqi targets, and some 10,000 fighters scattered between Iraq and Syria.
Iraq has agreed to detain at least a dozen French jihadists, transferred from Kurdish jails in northeastern Syria, in early 2019.
Asked Tuesday evening in Beirut, Emmanuel Macron replied that those who
"make the free choice to go and fight in external theaters and are guilty of terrorist acts in a sovereign state"
are intended to
"be brought to justice in this state"
.
The French president did not stop at Erbil, “capital” of the autonomous Kurdish regions of northern Iraq.
What satisfied Baghdad.
In order not to offend the Kurdish allies in the war against Daesh, contacts with the latter should theoretically be held in Baghdad, according to Iraqi sources.
