United States: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that he supported a diplomatic solution for the Syria conflict, as America and its partners look beyond the defeat of Daesh in the war-torn nation.
Speaking to reporters ahead of his arrival for talks in Finland on Monday, Mattis said intelligence assessments — based primarily on the numbers of extremists who have surrendered, deserted or been wounded — showed that “the whole bottom was dropping out” of Daesh.
He said he supported a United Nations (UN)-backed effort in Geneva, which has run in parallel to a Russian and Iranian-led process, to reach a diplomatic solution.
“Basically, we are trying to get this into the diplomatic mode so we can sort this out and make certain that minorities, whoever they are, are not subject to what we’ve seen” under the regime of President Bashar Al Assad.
The fight against Daesh in Iraq and Syria is not over, but they have sustained a string of major defeats and lost most of the territory they once held.
US allies are anxious for clear guidance from Washington about its plans in Syria once Daesh is crushed.
Mattis’s arrival in Finland kicked off a week of talks with regional allies and Nato partners that will focus on security issues including Daesh and Russia’s increased military assertiveness.
He will head to Nato headquarters in Brussels later in the week.
Mattis’s Helsinki visit also spotlights the workings of the so-called Northern Group, a little-known forum of 12 European nations that focuses on the continent’s military and security challenges, particularly those coming from the east.
