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France markets weapons to Iraq after decades of lull
France is in talks to resume sales of military equipment to Iraq for the first time in nearly two decades, French and Iraqi officials said.
- Agencies
- Published: 09:24 October 11, 2008
- Image Credit: AP
- France was once a key weapons supplier to Iraq's military, especially during the rule of Saddam Hussain.
Paris: France is in talks to resume sales of military equipment to Iraq for the first time in nearly two decades, French and Iraqi officials said.
Officials said the French merchandise on offer includes helicopters and spare parts for weaponry that France sold Iraq back in the 1980s.
France was once a key weapons supplier to the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain.
It's not about "replacing the Americans, or rejecting them," Jawad Bashara, spokesman for the Iraqi Embassy in France, said on Friday.
"Iraq needs to renew its military capacity, and needs to have several arms suppliers, not just one state," Bashara said.
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.
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.
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