Paris,
France offered on Thursday to mediate in a political crisis pitting Iraq’s government against Kurdish regional authorities, and promised to maintain a military

presence there until Islamic State was defeated.The offer by President Emmanuel Macron coincided with a visit by Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, his first

abroad since its Kurdish-held northern regions last month voted for independence in a referendum declared illegal by Baghdad.
The Iraqi government has imposed sanctions in response to the independence vote, but Abadi said on Thursday he could understand the Kurds’ “aspirations”-

provided they were expressed in accordance with the constitution-and wanted to avoid violence.
“We do not want an armed confrontation, we don’t want clashes,” Abadi said, speaking alongside Macron. “But the federal authority must prevail and nobody can

infringe on the federal authority.”
The outcome of the referendum has raised concerns in Iraq and abroad that a conflict might break out there along ethnic lines, potentially weakening a US-

backed campaign against Islamic State, which still holds pockets of territory in Iraq and Syria.
Macron, whose country is the second-biggest contributor to the campaign, said French forces would remain until the militant group’s defeat was “total.”
“It is vital in the coming weeks and months that a dialogue begins that respects the unity, integrity and sovereignty of Iraq within the framework of the

constitution and recognising Kurdish rights,” Macron added.
“France is ready, if Iraqi authorities wish, to actively contribute to the mediation launched by the United Nations.” Iraqi-Kurdish tensions were ratcheted down a

notch on Wednesday when the central bank in Baghdad eased financial restrictions imposed after the vote, after receiving a pledge of cooperation from Kurdish

banks, an Iraqi banking source said.
The central bank had said on Tuesday it would halt all foreign currency transfers to the region, banking and government sources told Reuters. All but four

Kurdish-owned banks were on Wednesday again allowed to send and receive dollar and foreign currency transfers, the first banking source said.
Abadi, in Paris for bilateral talks, said the Iraqis and Kurds had a common interest in maintaining peace.

He had on Tuesday called for a “joint administration” of Kirkuk and other areas claimed by both his government and the autonomous Kurdish region, provided

Baghdad had ultimate authority in any such arrangement.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk in 2014, when Iraqi forces collapsed in the face of IS advance across northern Iraq. — Reuters
Don’t want armed confrontation: Abadi
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said today he did not want an armed conflict with his country’s Kurds, days after the autonomous Kurdistan region voted for
independence in a referendum.