Paris: France will host a high-level meeting of the international community on combating the threat posed by the Islamic State group next month in Paris, authorities said yesterday.
“Along with (US Secretary of State) John Kerry and (Iraqi Prime Minister Haider) Al Abadi, I will be welcoming in Paris on June 2 the members of the international coalition to talk about Iraq,” Fabius said in a speech in the French capital.
The “central” theme of the meeting will be the crisis in Iraq although it was “not impossible” that Syria would also be discussed, the minister added. “We have to take stock of how the coalition wants to proceed. And the Iraqi prime minister will tell us what the situation is” on the ground, added Fabius. Some 24 ministers — including German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier — will also travel to Paris, as well as representatives from top international organisations, diplomatic sources said. The announcement of the meeting came as Islamic State fighters overran part of the historic Syrian city of Palmyra.
And in Iraq, the country’s army and paramilitary forces have massed around Ramadi, aiming to recapture the strategic city from IS. AFP
