France in talks to resume selling arms to Baghdad

FRANCE, which famously opposed the Iraq war, is in talks to resume sales of military equipment to Baghdad for the first time in nearly two decades, French and Iraqi officials say.

This means that France, a huge global arms vendor and once a key supplier to ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, is manoeuvring back into a lucrative military market the US has dominated since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The officials say French merchandise now on offer includes helicopters and spare parts for weaponry that France sold Iraq back in the 1980s.

It’s not about “replacing the Americans, or rejecting them”, Jawad Bashara, spokesman for the Iraqi Embassy in France, said yesterday. “Iraq needs to renew its military capacity, and needs to have several arms suppliers, not just one state.”

Bashara said a delegation headed by Iraq’s air force chief is expected in France in the next two weeks to finalise a contract for 30 surveillance and rescue helicopters. He would not put a value on the deal, saying only that it would be below list price for the equipment.

French and Iraqi officials are also discussing the possibility of French military training for Iraqis and sales of parts for French-made weapons systems, he said.

A French defence official confirmed talks have been under way for more than a year on renewing military ties with Iraq.