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France's Macron Stresses Support for Iraqi Sovereignty in Baghdad Visit

Reuters

   BAGHDAD - French President Emmanuel Macron voiced support on Wednesday
   for a sovereign Iraq and said its main challenges are Islamic State
   militants and foreign interference in its affairs.

   France also backs Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's efforts to
   "normalize" all armed forces, Macron said during a visit to Baghdad,
   referring to mostly Iran-backed Shi'ite militia groups.

   "We will remain committed because the battle against Islamic State is
   ongoing but this has to be in the context of an agreement and protocol
   that respects Iraq's sovereignty," he said at a joint news conference
   with Kadhimi.

   Macron's visit was the first by a Western leader to Iraq since Kadhimi
   took office in May as the third head of government in a chaotic 10-week
   period that followed months of unrest in a country exhausted by war
   with Islamist militants, corruption and economic decay.

   Kadhimi was appointed to head a government tasked with organizing an
   early election, a main demand of anti-government protesters who staged
   months of mass demonstrations last year. He has called one, to be held
   in June.

   Iraq has also struggled to cope with the clashing regional interests of
   its two major allies, the United States and Iran.

   French officials have said Paris is worried by a resurgence in Iraq of
   Islamic State militants profiting from political uncertainty and
   rivalries between Iran and the United States.

   Islamic State, which once occupied a third of Iraq's territory, has
   been largely defeated there but continues to carry out ambushes,
   assassinations and bombings.

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