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On Monday, top diplomats from 30 countries, including China, Russia and the United States, gathered in Paris to pledge support to Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State (IS) by “any means necessary”, including “appropriate military assistance”. The meeting comes on the heels of the beheading of a third western hostage by IS over the weekend.
The diplomats issued a joint statement after the talks, and promised to support Baghdad “by any means necessary, including appropriate military assistance, in line with the needs expressed by the Iraqi authorities, in accordance with international law and without jeopardizing civilian security”.
They also stressed that IS extremists were “a threat not only to Iraq but also to the entire international community” and underscored the “urgent need” to expel them from Iraq. However, there was no mention of Syria in the joint statement – the IS controls 40% of Iraqi territory, and over 25% of Syrian land.
French President Francois Hollande opened the conference, emphasizing that there was “no time to lose” in the fight against IS.
“The fight of the Iraqis against terrorism is our fight as well”, Hollande said, urging “clear, loyal and strong” international support for Iraq.
Iraq President Fuad Masum also emphasized the urgency of the crisis, and said that there is a chance that the extremists might overrun several other countries in the region.
“We are still asking for regular aerial operations against terrorist sites. We have to pursue them wherever they are. We need to dry up their sources of finance”, he said.
Despite Syria not getting a mention in the final statement, Hollande during the conference said that the international community “needs to find a durable solution in the place where the (IS) movement was born – in Syria”.
“The chaos is benefiting the terrorists. We therefore need to support those who can negotiate and make the required compromises to secure the future of Syria. They are the forces of the democratic opposition. They need to be backed by all means”, he said.
