France will maintain its military presence in Iraq even if the United States completely leaves the country. This was announced on Sunday, August 29, by French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with TF1 TV channel.
"We will stay there as long as there are terrorists there, as long as the Iraqis ask us to do this," the French leader said.
Macron stressed that if the US authorities decide to completely leave Iraq, France will not depend on this decision and "will remain on the side of the Iraqis."
On July 26, the US State Department in a joint statement with the Iraqi side noted that Washington intends to stop the country's participation in military operations in Iraq by December 31, 2021.
On the same day, American President Joe Biden said that further US-Iraqi cooperation should affect the training and training of the forces of Baghdad. He stressed that the American side does not intend to participate in military operations on Iraqi territory.