Iraq denies plans for Abadi, Kurdistan leader meeting in Paris

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A meeting with Kurdistan President Masud Barzani is not on the agenda of a planned visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to France, the Iraqi premier’s office said Monday.

Abadi’s spokesperson Saadi al-Haditihi was quoted by Aljournal News website saying that news about a planned meeting between the two leaders during the France trip were untrue. “The agenda of the prime minister’s visit to France has not included a meeting with the region’s president,” Hadithi stated, adding that he has no knowledge of such a meeting.

Haditihi said the visit was still undeclared, noting that Abadi had received an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron via the French foreign and defense ministers during their visit to baghdad in August, and was later confirmed by Marcon in a phone call with Abadi.

“The visit will tackle two files that had been defined more than one month earlier: bilateral relations and France’s role in boosting Iraqi security and military capabilities,” Hadithi argued.

Hadithi reiterated that the visit was not going to tackle a divisive referendum on independence from Iraq which Kurdistan held on September 25th. “We are not tackling the referendum and are not going to engage in dialogue on its results. The (Kurdistan) region is required to recognize the unity of Iraq, cede the referendum’s results and commit to the constitution,” he stated.

AFP had reported that Macron invited Barzani and Abadi for a visit to France by the end of the current week to hash out a solution to the political crisis that flared after Kurdistan held a poll in which it said 92% of the autonomous region’s population backed independence from Iraq.