For the visit of the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani to France

For the visit of the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani to France

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On the eighth of the current September , Massoud Barzani, president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region   visited  France, and during his visit he met with French President Francois Hollande and senior officials of the French Republic. this meeting is the third of its kind that brings together the two presidents in two years. It is worth noting that   the French president had visited the Kurdistan Region and  met in Erbil with President Massoud Barzani, on  September 12 / 2014 in a very important step, after the emergence of the terrorist al Daesh  on the theater  of military, security and economic events in the Iraq , and its   terrorist aggression  on Iraqi Kurdistan. President Massoud Barzani  had visited France in February 10  – 2015  in the wake of his participation in the Munich Security Conference and met with French President Francois Hollande.

But the specificity of this visit and its importance  are  in    the two main factors;  the first one related to the  time  of the  visit simultaneous with anticipation of  large developments with regard to confronting the  terrorist organization Daesh  whereas Preparations are under way for the battles to take it out of Mosul in Iraq and Al-riqa  in Syria and what will be followed  after the two battles of the shift in the  geopolitical equation in the region and that President Massoud Barzani is seeking with his diplomatic  efforts  to secure political and strategic gains for the Kurds  equivalent to the size of the role played by Kurds in the battle of the confrontation with the terrorist organization. President Barzani  moved from battlefronts that decide the  form of  field equation to the corridors of international decision-making, which plays a key role in determining the shape of the political equation.

The second factor relates to the features of new  international and regional conventions and understandings on the  zone files, particularly with regard to the Syrian crisis dossier, which suggests that they will be at the expense of the Kurdish nationalist aspirations in the region. President Barzani is the son of   September revolution  and heir of  its struggle legacy  and knows very well the bitterness of the international and regional treachery  to the Kurdish people, and therefore seeks to secure a safety net by providing support and assist of influential  international forces and  across calming the concerns of influential regional powers.

It is useful to note the importance of the visit here that France is an influential country politically, diplomatically and have positive attitudes of the Kurdish issue.They are, in addition to being one of the countries in support of the Peshmerga forces in their battle against Daesh terrorist, it has proven in two decisive issues in the history of the Kurdish issue and stand by the Kurdish people, as it had the  biggest role in the issuance of the UN Security Council  for its  famous decision  688  issued  on   5  April 1991  stipulate to establish a safe area in the south of Kurdistan, and  also was among the first countries that sided with the Kurdistan region in the face of Daesh and provided it with various aid in its battle. Barzani pointed to the relations between France and the Kurdistan Region, said, “We have strong relations with France, both of us are fighting the same battle, against the same enemy, which is terrorism, we both want peace and we want democracy .. formerly France gave us a lot of assistance and continue to support us and send us the battle kits  and military experts, as warplanes launched raids on Daesh. ”

During the visit, a visit to France ,he  conducted  an interview with the French newspaper “Le Monde”, since that interview touched on the restoration of Mosul, the Iraqi situation and the war against the “Islamic State” Daesh, and the independence of the province of Kurdistan process. In response to a question about the possibility of holding a referendum for the independence of the Kurdistan region because of the political crisis facing the Kurdistan Regional Government? Barzani said: “The referendum is more important than political parties and personalities, and in spite of the existence of internal problems, but all citizens agree on this national issue, and we are seeking to resolve the internal problems in Iraqi Kurdistan, and we’ll talk with the Iraqi government before determining an agreement to hold the referendum.”

And about the battle of the restoration of Mosul, Barzani told the French newspaper, “The Mosul, an important city for all, not just for us, and our coordination with  the Iraqi government is good  in this regard,  our discussions are focused  about the military and political sides, there’s some sort of agreement on the military side, but we have not reached an agreement from the political side yet , and without this agreement, a battle of Mosul will not be carried out. ”

And concerning the  Baghdad and Erbil agreement on a military plan to restore Mosul, Kurdistan Region President said, “It will be for the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces a key role in this battle, and the participation of local militias (in battle) depends on the approval of the Iraqi government, noting that Mosul  is located in the Sunni area , so it is natural that  they participate  but for the participation of the popular crowd forces,  the opinion of people of the area must be taken , and if they agree on the participation of the popular crowd, we will agree, too, there must be good coordination between Sunnis and Shiites on the battlefield. ”

On the disputed areas, Barzani said, “The Peshmerga forces are in those areas now, which is to protect the citizens, so there is  no need for the deployment of Iraqi troops in those areas, and must hold a referendum so that residents of these areas will decide for themselves where they want to belong, because the decision in their hands ” he said, adding that “Iraqi Kurdistan is a red line which will not keep any party, whether US or Iraqi forces.”

And about whether “the Peshmerga would stay in Mosul?”, Barzani, told  the French Le Monde saying , “I do not intend to stay in Mosul, and even if we go to this city, we will not stay in it.” On the participation of Turkey in the battle of the restoration of Mosul,  the head of the Kurdistan Region added , “I do not think that Turkey will take part in the battle, but it may help forces involved in battle, the direct participation of Turkey in the battle is not necessary, and the Iraqi government opposes it.”

 

And his opinion about the Turkish military intervention in northern Syria? He replied: “I am very worried about the future of Syria’s Kurds. Democratic Union Party (PYD) controlled the region, and applies the PKK  policy engaged in a war with Turkey . And the failure of the party in northern Syria, to ensure the participation of everyone. The party helped the Syrian government without reaching an agreement on the future of the Kurdish region. Democratic Union Party has failed to reach an agreement with the Syrian opposition. In sum, we do not see today on the future of the Kurds of Syria. ”

Many political analysts and military experts of the Iraq affairs  believe that the answers  of  Massoud Barzani, president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region  to  the questions of  newspaper “Le Monde”   are characterized by deep realism on the Iraqi internal level  and Middle Eastern as sent through these answers important messages, including his emphasis on the need to agree on a political dimension and the military before starting the battle of Mosul against the terrorist al Daesh , he is with the battle to liberate Mosul but only  on condition of reaching to  a political agreement on it , so as  the parties participating in it to avoid  any future disputes over its  administration , noting that the emphasis  on the political agreement , he  displays here  if  we are allowed   for us to say ” political preventive agreement  between the actors involved in the battle of Mosul, “and also confirmed coordination with the Iraqi government in   the  details of two dimensions and  the importance of reaching a consensus on supporting  Iraqi armed forces   and the need to respect the common agreements, and implicit  acceptance  for  the participation of the popular crowd at the battle of Mosul.

 

Political analysts and military  experts  also agreed that his answer  about the Turkish intervention in northern Syria, it was an  balanced answer .  These analysts and  Experts attributed the balanced answer to the   important shifts in the regional and international political scene, which turned a blind eye to the process, “the Turkish  shield of the Euphrates”  waged in the twenty-fourth of August , against the Kurdish federal ambitions in the north of the “west and east of the Euphrates” Syria.

From the above, we conclude that this clarity by Massoud Barzani, president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region in the press dialogue with the French newspaper “Le Monde” due to his deep  realization  that Syria and Iraq in the post-regulation Daesh will vary completely, and probably also will pay the price  for this  appearance  and collapse  of it , so from his point of view   the  compatibility  with partners in the homeland is much better than rivalry, and also  he realizes  that any change to the map of the Middle East countries “Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey” is in favor of Kurdish ambitions to create a nation-state but  will not be an easy task .

 

Rawabet Center for  Research and Strategic Studies