Macron: France ready to help Baghdad ease tensions with Kurdish region

TALLINN – French President Emmanuel Macron offered on Friday to help ease tensions between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government over an independence vote held in Iraqi Kurdistan, warning that any further escalation should be avoided.

In a statement after a telephone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi, Macron's office said he had invited Abadi to Paris on Oct. 5 to discuss the issue, but warned that the two sides should remain united in their priority to defeat Islamic State and stabilize Iraq.

"All escalation should be avoided," Macron said in the statement.