(fixes typo in slug)
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo
Gentiloni on Friday said conquering Mosul will be positive even
if the road to retake the key Iraqi city from the so-called
Islamic State (ISIS) terror group is "long and difficult",
speaking at a joint press conference in Rome with Brett McGurth,
the US State Department special envoy to the anti-ISIS
coalition.
"We should never raise expectations for quick solutions",
Gentiloni said of the Iraqi-led operation to retake ISIS's last
major stronghold in Iraq and the country's second-largest city.
"There is no doubt that the coalition has started
operations towards Mosul having already reached some agreements
between different components" also thanks to McGurth's role, the
foreign minister said.
"The objective is to have an inclusive governance that does
not authorize sectarian or vindictive policies but respects the
pluralistic context of these areas".
McGurk said the US-assisted campaign to retake Mosul will be
"long" as expected but that so far all the objectives have been
obtained.
A coalition of some 100,000 forces started the operation 10
days ago, gaining ground towards the city and retaking villages
from ISIS along the way.
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