Addressing government ministers from nations fighting the Islamic State militant group, Jacek Czaputowicz said, as quoted by the Polish foreign ministry: “We need to remain united to stabilise the region and to prevent an ISIS reemergence.”
The high-level meeting in the US capital on Wednesday was held to take stock of the achievements of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria and to decide about its future course of action, according to the Polish foreign ministry.
The meeting, chaired by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, agreed that the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS would continue its efforts to counter terrorist financing, internet radicalisation and threats related to a return of foreign terrorist fighters, the Polish foreign ministry said.
The coalition agreed that the main challenge was to prevent an ISIS resurgence in the Middle East and in other regions, and to rebuild and stabilise liberated territory, according to the foreign ministry in Warsaw.
In his speech at the conference, Czaputowicz was quoted as saying that despite the coalition’s successful track record, ISIS remained a strong terrorist group.
“As a follow-up to the successful first phase of the operation, we should undertake more resolute stabilisation efforts of a non-military nature,” Czaputowicz said.
He noted that Poland has been an active member of the Coalition practically from its inception, participating both in military actions and in funding stabilisation and humanitarian measures, according to the foreign ministry in Warsaw.
Photo: gov.pl
The Polish foreign ministry said Czaputowicz emphasised the need to ensure broader stabilisation in the Middle East.
“If we fail to achieve a lasting peace and stability, our financial and military effort will be wasted,” Czaputowicz was quoted as saying.
He outlined the goals of an upcoming ministerial conference on the Middle East that Poland and the United States are jointly holding in Warsaw on February 13-14, the Polish foreign ministry also said.
It quoted on its website US President Donald Trump as telling Wednesday's meeting that thanks to the commitment of all Coalition members, a vast swathe of territory inhabited by more than 5 million people was liberated from ISIS.
“It should be formally announced sometime probably next week that we will have 100 percent of the caliphate,” Trump was cited as saying, thanking military officers, diplomats and politicians from the 74 countries and five organisations that form the US-led military coalition against ISIS.
The 79-member coalition, formed in 2014, includes international organisations such as NATO and the European Union.
(gs/pk)
Source: gov.pl