ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - President Masoud Barzani on Friday received French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, with the pair discussing recent developments in Rojava (northeast Syria), the peace process in Turkey, and counterterrorism cooperation.

The French top diplomat the day prior met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, as well as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi and other Rojava officials.

In late January, SDF announced that it has reached a “comprehensive agreement” with Damascus that will see a phased integration process of the Kurdish-led forces into the Syrian state after weeks-long clashes between both sides.

During their meeting, "President Barzani indicated that he did all his efforts to prevent political disputes between Kurds and Arabs and also to prevent racism against the Kurdish people in Syria," according to a Barzani Heqadquarters statement, expressing his hopes that "the agreement will be a foundation for stability."

Barrot in turn expressed his gratitude for Barzani's role in mediating peace efforts in the region, with the minister having repeatedly vowed of France's commitment to securing the agreement and protecting Kurdish rights.

France "stands and will always stand alongside the Kurdish people so that their rights are respected," Barrot said on Thursday night in a joint presser with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.

In the Friday meeting, the pair also expressed the importance of cooperation in combatting Islamic State (ISIS) remnants in the region, with Paris having been a key partner of the Kurdistan Region in this domain.

"There should be a proper mechanism and cooperation between the parties to combat the terrorist threat and ISIS," President Barzani said, according to the statement.

He further highlighted efforts to abet the ongoing peace process between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkey after a decades-long conflict, which began in 2025 after the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his group to disband and pursue their aims through the political apparatus.

"President Barzani pointed out the peace process in Turkey and wished that the peace process in turkey will be achieved through dialogue and always supported that process," the statement read.

Barzani further expressed his delight at Barrot's bringing of a letter from the iconic Kurdish leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani, the president's own father.

"Know that you represent for us, a people whose existence is denied and threatened, victims of a long and cruel war, the only international authority capable of providing the elements of a just and peaceful solution," Mullah Mustafa Barzani wrote to then-French President Charles de Gaulle in 1967, with the pair hailing the document as a testament to the enduring relationship between France and the Kurdish people.