ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the ongoing regional war and its potential consequences during a phone call on Saturday, expressing concern over the risk of further escalation and stressing the need for stronger international efforts to restore peace and stability.
During the call, the two leaders exchanged views on the current regional situation and the impact of the US-Israel war against Iran, which started a week ago when Washington and Tel Aviv struck Tehran and killed many leaders and commanders, including Spiritual Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has targeted US bases in the Middle East and the region’s energy infrastructure in response to the ongoing aerial campaign by US and Israel.
Both sides expressed “serious concern about the risk of further escalation and agreed on the urgent need to strengthen international efforts to prevent any additional deterioration of the conflict while restoring peace and security across the region,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
Barzani and Macron also discussed France’s relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, as well as ways to continue and strengthen cooperation.
The two sides highlighted the importance of further deepening their partnership, which “builds on a long history of collaboration and coordination across a wide range of sectors.”
President Barzani thanked Macron and France for their continued support to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, particularly France’s diplomatic role in helping shield the region from the threats posed by the ongoing conflict.
Macron said in a statement in Kurdish that during his phone call with President Barzani, he "reaffirmed France’s commitment to the security and stability" of Iraq and Kurdistan Region.
"We agreed to continue our efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons in the area. To this end, I thanked him for their commitment to that cause," he added.