BAGHDAD—French President Emmanuel Macron, on his first official visit to Iraq, pledged support to the country’s new government in its fight against Islamic State, amid concerns over the militant group’s resurgence as the U.S. cuts its troops there.
“We remain committed because the battle against terrorist Daesh continues,” Mr. Macron said Wednesday in a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, referring to Islamic State by another name. “But this must happen in the framework of agreements and protocols that respect Iraqi sovereignty,” he said.
The French launched a military operation in Iraq in 2014 as part of the U.S.-led international coalition against Islamic State. After the territorial defeat of Islamic State, France in early 2020 repurposed the mission to conduct training and in March withdrew all its troops due to the coronavirus outbreak. It continued to participate in airstrikes against Islamic State.
The French government is considering whether to redeploy troops in Iraq, but no deadline has yet been set, said a spokesman for the French ministry of armed forces.
France has become more deeply embroiled in conflicts across the wider Middle East as the U.S. has disengaged from the region in recent years. Last month, Mr. Macron ordered French forces to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide military assistance to Greece, raising the stakes in France’s growing regional confrontation against an increasingly assertive Turkey.