France seeks regional backing in Iraq for two-state solution plan

France has begun seeking regional backing in Iraq in order to build support for a two-state solution plan between Israel and Palestine.

According to The New Arab, Jean-Noel Barrot, the Foreign Minister of France, met with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein during a visit to Baghdad on April 23.  

The French foreign ministry stated that the visit–alongside ongoing diplomatic efforts with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia-aims to help set up an “international conference” to explore the issues in depth and hopefully move toward a long-term solution.

This recent round of diplomacy follows comments made by French president Emmanuel Macron, who suggested that France would be willing to officially recognise a Palestinian state.

It is hoped that by doing so, France’s move could ”trigger a series of other recognitions as well” from both Arab and Western nations-recognizing both Israel and Palestine as sovereign states. 

Such widespread recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen as a key step toward implementing a sustainable two-state solution and ending the cycle of violence between the two nations. 

Currently, while Iraq recognises a Palestinian state, it has no diplomatic relations with Israel and does not recognise its sovereignty either.

However, due to France’s latest diplomatic efforts, there is hope that this stance could shift in the future and thar Iraqi could fully recognise Israel as a sovereign state.

France’s renewed push for a political solution comes at a time when progress toward peace in Gaza has stalled. 

As previously reported by Maghrebi, Qatar along with the US and Egypt, successfully brokered a truce between Israel and Hamas on January 19. 

However, the ceasefire later collapsed, and fighting in the region resumed soon after. 

This has been seen as a major setback for regional peace, with Qatar’s chief negotiator Mohammed Al-Khulaifi  admitting frustration with the “slowness” of current negotiations.

The New Arab, Maghrebi