A meeting of officials in Saudi Arabia to discuss anti-ISIS efforts has concluded with high hopes for the next phase in the fight.
Following the sit-down, the US and Saudi Arabia issued a joint statement on the meeting, which was significant because Syria’s Foreign Minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, and the US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, attended.
Barrack also met with Shaibani and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, in the lead-up to the meeting, following earlier talks on Syria.
Regarding the joint statement released by the US and Saudi Arabia, it noted that “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting of senior diplomatic and defense officials from the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/Daesh in Riyadh on [Monday]. Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed A. Elkhereiji opened the meeting, which was co-chaired by [the] US ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack.”
This means that this was the coalition’s first meeting since the January 30 agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF had been the main coalition partner in Syria until Damascus joined the anti-ISIS alliance in November as well.
Now, coalition members are seeking to engage with Syria. “Participants welcomed the comprehensive agreement between the Government of Syria and the SDF, including the permanent ceasefire and arrangements for the civil and military integration of northeast Syria,” the joint statement read.
Further, the Syrian government’s stated intention is “to assume national leadership of counter-ISIS efforts,” it said.
Syrian leaders expressed appreciation for SDF's role in fight against ISIS
The statement added that Syria’s leadership “expressed appreciation for the sacrifices made by the SDF in the fight against ISIS,” and, during the meeting, “participants also thanked Iraq for its continued leadership in the Defeat ISIS campaign.”
This clearly indicates that the coalition hopes that Syria can pick up where the SDF left off. Damascus will essentially take the lead in Syria now. That makes sense since Damascus is a government that is part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/Daesh.
The deal with the SDF helps pave the way for a peaceful transition of this mission. The SDF sacrificed around 12,000 fighters during the war, new data shows. Around 5,000 of these were Arab fighters, and apparently, the vast majority of the other losses were Kurds. The heavy death toll enabled the coalition to defeat ISIS in Syria and has kept ISIS in check ever since.
During the meeting, it was also noted that members were working on their priorities.
This includes “the swift transfer and safeguarding of ISIS detainees, third-country repatriation, the dignified reintegration of families from al-Hol and the Roj camps to their communities of origin,” as well as “continued coordination with Damascus and Baghdad on the future of the Defeat ISIS campaign in Syria and Iraq,” per the joint announcement.
“Participants welcomed the Syrian government as the 90th member of the Defeat ISIS coalition. Coalition members underscored their readiness to work closely with the Syrian government and encouraged members to provide direct support to Syrian and Iraqi efforts,” the US and Saudi Arabia said.
Around 7,000 ISIS members can be transferred. The report stated that approximately 2,200 have been relocated to Iraq so far.
“Officials commended Iraq’s efforts to securely detain ISIS fighters and welcomed Syria’s assumption of responsibility for detention facilities and displacement camps housing ISIS fighters and their family members. Participants reiterated the need for countries to take responsibility for and repatriate their nationals from Iraq and Syria,” the statement said.
The coalition did not appear to discuss other areas of the world where ISIS might pose a threat. Notably, there are extremist cells, some linked to ISIS, in the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in Asia and Europe.