In recent years, senior officials of the Kurdistan Region have made several trips to France, the most important of which was the visit of Nechirvan Barzani, the Kurdistan Region President, to Paris and meetings with French leaders.
Iraqi Kurdish officials also hosted senior French officials, and Kurdish regional leaders warmly welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to Erbil last summer.
The Italian Institute for Political Studies described the trips as an attempt by France to expand its influence in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and wrote in a report on the presence of Italy and France in Iraq as EU representatives.
The Italian think tank has stressed that Ankara has an unpleasant feeling about the expansion of French influence in the Kurdish region and considers this country as its rival.
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