LONDON: Syria’s involvement in the international coalition against Daesh extremists marks a “new chapter” in global security, the US envoy to the country said Tuesday.
Syria’s foreign and intelligence ministers joined a coalition meeting for the first time in Riyadh on Monday, three months after the country’s new rulers announced it had joined the group.
Daesh emerged out of the chaos of the Syrian civil war, seizing a vast tract of territory in the country’s east and across large areas of Iraq in 2014.
The extremist group imposed brutal rule over the areas it controlled and plotted terrorist attacks around the world, before the US-led coalition helped defeat them.
President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who led opposition forces to victory against Bashar Assad more than a year ago, has offered his support to global efforts to counter the group.
“Regional solutions, shared responsibility. Syria’s participation in the D-ISIS Coalition meeting in Riyadh marks a new chapter in collective security,” US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said in a post on X, using an acronym to refer to Daesh.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani described the meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh as “constructive and fruitful,” adding that supporting Syria was a “shared responsibility to enhance security and stability.”
In a statement after the Saudi-hosted meeting, the coalition said it noted Syria’s intention to “assume national leadership of counter-Daesh efforts.”
