Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

The North Atlantic alliance will not participate directly in the fight against the terrorist group "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria and Iraq.

This was stated in Berlin by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, TASS reported.

The U.S. under President Donald Trump is keen for a greater emphasis on NATO fighting terrorism. The NATO chief said that all members of the 28-alliance are already members of the anti-IS coalition, though NATO itself formally isn't.

"The question is whether NATO as an alliance should be at the table coordinating with the others, or whether we should continue to provide support to the coalition," Stoltenberg said.

If it does join, "it will not change the fundamental role of NATO, because we will not be engaged in combat operations — neither in Syria nor Iraq," he said.

"The Alliance will continue to support and train the units," Stoltenberg added, stressing that the refusal to participate directly in the military activities "concerns the role of NATO in both Syria and Iraq."

In turn, Merkel expressed confidence that the decision on this issue will be taken at the summit of the alliance on May 25 in Brussels.

"We are negotiating on whether NATO should officially become part of the coalition, these consultations are continuing," she said adding "I assured the Secretary General that we will continue them and finish by May 25."

The Government of Germany has so far been categorically against NATO joining coalition in fight against ISIS. As a justification for its position, it stated that NATO's participation would intensify conflicts in the region or, at the very least, will complicate the search for a peaceful settlement.

NATO currently provides support with AWACS surveillance planes and with training in Iraq, in addition to what its member nations provide individually.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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