German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, second right, speaks with Iraq’s Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, second left, during a Counter-ISIL Coalition Ministerial meeting at North Atlantic Treaty Organisation headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, F…
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The two countries promised to restart now-stalled air campaigns against the Islamic State, according to Carter, and will be sending special operation forces into Syria to assist local fighters on the ground at the tactical level.
“We will all look back after victory and remember who participated in the fight”, he said.
“We’re going to have a serious conversation about all aspects about what’s happening in Syria”, Kerry said as their meeting got underway.
Few details were provided on the possible timeline for retaking Raqqa and Mosul or what support the coalition nations will offer, but Carter indicated his hope that significant progress in the offensive will be made by the end of next month. “I believe today’s discussion will inspire each of us to do more”, Carter said.
USA defense officials had sought to manage expectations about the talks, since many ministers would need to win support from their parliaments.
“The United States is showing the way forward through intensifying our counter-ISIL operations, and we stand ready … to do more”, and the nation is “absolutely determined” to lead the campaign against ISIL, Carter said.
“By then, at the latest, we should begin to see tangible gains from those additional capabilities, from the ones the coalition is already bringing to bear”, Carter said.
Carter has repeatedly referred to the Islamic State group as a “cancer”, which is spreading beyond and Syria and Iraq to other countries such as Libya and Afghanistan. It was not clear whether their pledge to boost their roles in the Islamic State fight will also include parallel assistance to Syrian opposition groups.
Ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group 2 “will start to move now” on orders from U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, Stoltenberg said.
The Netherlands, which has been carrying out airstrikes in Iraq, said on January 29 that it would expand its efforts to Syria.
Lavrov said the Russian air campaign in support of Assad’s military would continue against terrorist groups and denied persistent reports that the Russian strikes have hit civilian areas, notably around rebel-held Aleppo, where heavy fighting has been raging for the past week.
Saudi Arabia’s Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, a military spokesman, said his country was ready to send troops into Syria if there was a consensus in the coalition. Canada also will keep two surveillance planes in the region and conduct aerial refuelling missions.
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The coalition has launched more than 10,000 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in the previous year and a half in Iraq and Syria, but the U.S.by far has launched most of the attacks, 68 percent of them in Iraq and 94 percent in Syria.
