(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
The world's top diplomats have pledged to support Iraq in its fight against so-called Islamic State militants by any means necessary, including giving military assistance.
The move came at a summit in Paris, attended by representatives from about 30 countries and international organisations.
Michael Kenny reports.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
The summit was attended by representatives from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and representatives from the European Union and the Arab League.
In a joint statement after the talks, the diplomats stressed the so-called Islamic State fighters are a threat not only to Iraq, but also to the entire international community.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke at the end of the summit, calling for a united global response against the group.
(Translated) "If we want to fight in an efficient way against these terrorists- which will take time- it is a long-term action- then this action must be a global one."
That was a view shared by Iraq's Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
(Translated) "The message is very clear: no country will be abandoned if it were to be attacked by terrorists. The whole international community will stand united."
But Mr Jaafari said he was disappointed that Iran was not invited to attend the Paris conference.
Iran, like Iraq, is majority Muslim Shiite, while the group calling itself the Islamic State is made up of Muslim Sunni fighters who target Shiite Muslims.
An elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Qods Force and allied militias are reportedly on the ground in Iraq fighting the Islamic militants.
Another country absent from the summit was Syria where the presence of Islamic State fighters has also generated concern from a number of western countries.
Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has not ruled out military action in Syria at some stage in the future.
"I've said already in parliament that would be an order of magnitude more difficult than airstrikes in Iraq for all sorts of reasons; military, legal and technical. But we haven't ruled it out. We haven't made a decision yet about how we will best contribute to the coalition effort against ISIL."
All the nations attending the Paris summit did not spell out specifically what role they intended to play in the US led fight against the so-called Islamic State.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was critical of the summit's failure to discuss concrete ways to combat the armed group in Syria as well as Iraq.
(Translated) "There cannot be double standards in the war against terrorism. Terrorists can't be good or bad. We must be consistent and not involve our personal political projects, not prioritise them over the general goal of fighting terrorism."
Share
