French President Emmanuel Macron will make his first official trip to Baghdad on Wednesday, government sources in Baghdad told AFP, to signal solidarity with the crisis-hit country.
Macron, who is currently visiting Lebanon, is the most senior foreign official to travel to Iraq since Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi ascended to power in May.
"He will meet the Iraqi prime minister and president and is hoping to hold talks with a range of political actors," an Iraqi government source told AFP.
Two other Iraqi officials confirmed the visit. Macron's office has yet to publicly confirm the trip.
The Iraqi sources said talks will focus on the country's "sovereignty" and stress need for Baghdad to carve out an independent path away from the tug-of-war between its two main allies, Washington and Tehran.
The message will echo that of France's top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian during a trip to Iraq in July, when he insisted Baghdad "should dissociate itself from regional tensions".
Iraq has been rocked by a series of crises this year, starting with a US drone strike in January that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Iran retaliated with strikes against US troops in western Iraq, and Tehran-backed groups are suspected of launching volleys of rockets on US diplomatic, military and commercial interests in recent months.
As OPEC's second biggest crude producer, Iraq was also hit hard by the collapse in oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic has forced the country's fragile economy to sink even further.
