Iraq needs a "broad unity government" if it is to combat Islamist militants who have seized swathes of territory and are threatening minorities, says French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
He is in Iraq for crisis talks on the rapid advance of Islamic State (IS).
His visit comes after the US launched a new round of air strikes targeting IS fighters near Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The president of the autonomous region, Massoud Barzani, appealed for weapons to help fight IS, Reuters reported.
Speaking alongside Mr Fabius, Mr Barzani said: "We are not fighting a terrorist organisation, we are fighting a terrorist state".
US military action came after members of the Yazidi sect were forced to flee the town of Sinjar into the surrounding mountains.
The US, France and the UK have continued to deliver aid supplies to the Yazidis.
The Sunni militant group IS, formerly known as Isis, has taken control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria, declaring a "caliphate", or Islamic state, in the region.
US President Barack Obama authorised the air strikes last week to halt the insurgency, which analysts say poses a serious threat to the stability of the Middle East.
He is in Iraq for crisis talks on the rapid advance of Islamic State (IS).
His visit comes after the US launched a new round of air strikes targeting IS fighters near Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The president of the autonomous region, Massoud Barzani, appealed for weapons to help fight IS, Reuters reported.
Speaking alongside Mr Fabius, Mr Barzani said: "We are not fighting a terrorist organisation, we are fighting a terrorist state".
US military action came after members of the Yazidi sect were forced to flee the town of Sinjar into the surrounding mountains.
The US, France and the UK have continued to deliver aid supplies to the Yazidis.
The Sunni militant group IS, formerly known as Isis, has taken control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria, declaring a "caliphate", or Islamic state, in the region.
US President Barack Obama authorised the air strikes last week to halt the insurgency, which analysts say poses a serious threat to the stability of the Middle East.
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