NATO to decide on its membership in anti-IS coallition
By Kamila Aliyeva
NATO leaders are set to give the go-ahead for the alliance to formally join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.
NATO will join the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State jihadis, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said on May 25, ahead of a summit with President Donald Trump.
"This will send a strong political message of NATO's commitment to the fight against terrorism," Stoltenberg said.
He stressed this did not involve NATO taking on a combat role in the fight against IS and other Islamist terror groups in Syria and Iraq.
Trump is in Brussels on his first foreign trip as the U.S. president to push NATO allies to take on a more active role.
All 28 allies have individually joined the anti-IS coalition of more than 60 countries, but NATO as an institution has not followed suit until now despite intense pressure from Washington.
Diplomatic sources say some member states such as France, Germany and Italy had opposed such a move for fear the alliance would be dragged into a ground war and risk relations with Arab powers.
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.
Stoltenberg said NATO would expand the role of its AWACS surveillance planes in supporting anti-IS operations and step up its training programmes in Iraq.
A special cell would be set up at NATO headquarters in Brussels to coordinate anti-terror intelligence and planning, he said.
He said the allies would also meet Tusk's demands to share more of the security burden and reaffirm a commitment to spend two percent of annual GDP on defense.
Earlier, Secretary General said that the North Atlantic alliance will not take part in any direct military operations in Syria.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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