Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani received a telephone call from French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Monday. The French Foreign Minister commended President Barzani and the peshemrga forces to fill the security vacuum left following the withdrawal of Iraqi army in the Ninewa province and elsewhere. He also commended the KRG’s decision to host refugees from Ninewa and other areas.

Mr. Fabius stated that the President of France is following the situation in Iraq very closely and that his country is concerned about the threat of terror and extremists in the country.

During the conversation, President Barzani stated that the Peshmerga forces will protect all ethnic and religious communities in the areas under their control and expressed his hope for a return of peace and stability in those araes. The President reiterated his stance that the deployment of the Peshmerga forces is for the sake of stability in the country.