DEPUTY Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, held wide ranging talks with defense ministers of the United States, France and Britain on the sidelines of the second meeting of the Global Coalition to fight Daesh (the so-called IS) at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington D.C., Wednesday evening.
The Deputy Crown Prince had separate meetings with US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Odrian. Their talks figured mainly on enhancing defense cooperation, especially in fighting Daesh. They also reviewed bilateral relations and ways to further strengthen them besides discussing a number of issues of common interest.
Prince Muhammad also led the Kingdom’s delegation at the second meeting of the Ianti-Daesh coalition. The meeting reviewed the outcome of the works of the coalition since its first meeting in Brussels and agreed on a plan to corner Daesh in its final bastions. The leaders discussed the strategic objectives for the next stage and ways to counter the spread of Daesh outside Iraq and Syria.
US Defense Secretary Carter told reporters that an accelerated military effort would soon see the group pushed back to Raqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. US officials said donor countries had pledged a total of $2 billion toward the cost of rebuilding Iraq and insulating its communities from extremism. But Carter warned that isolating and taking out what he called the Daesh “parent tumor” would not eliminate its ability to spring or inspire attacks elsewhere.
Defense ministers from the Western and Arab countries of the coalition said they have a military plan to liberate the cities with local Iraqi and Syrian forces. “Today, we made the plans and commitments that will help us deliver ISIL the lasting defeat that it deserves,” Carter told reporters.
