ISIS has been beaten in territorial
terms but not yet eradicated, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio
said opening an anti-Daesh coalition ministerial meeting in Rome
Monday.
"Daesh has been defeated in its territorial dimension, but it
has not been eradicated, That is why Italy, with over 800 units
deployed between Iraq and Kuwait, will continue to maintain in
Iraq, while respecting Iraqi sovereignty and in full agreement
with Baghdad, a significant military contingent with the aim of
making the country able to address the threat autonomously," he
said.
Italy is gearing to up its part in the NATO mission in Iraq and
to take command after Denmark's duty presidency ends, he added.
Di Maio went on to say that the Islamic State poses a threat to
Africa and an ad hoc working group was needed on this threat.
"Precisely because of the significance gained by Daesh's threat
in Africa today," he said, "I propose to the partners of the
Coalition to examine the possibility of setting up a Working
Group dedicated to Africa, to face the issues in their entirety,
beyond the thematic Working Groups already existing. A Group
that valorises to the best the participation of African
Countries interested in providing their contribution."
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the global
coalition fighting ISIS had achieved "significant results" that
"reflect what you can achieve together".
He reiterated that "we have made progress" against Daesh
"because we have worked together".
The US is co-chairing the meeting with Italy.
Di Maio said that the summit highlighted the fact that the
international spotlight had been trained onto Italy again and
"we are back as protagonists".
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