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