MOSCOW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - Western countries are unlikely to cooperate with the Syrian government in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), Iraq's newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister told Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.
"It is doubtful. I can only share my impressions from talks with Western politicians. I will not hide from you that their position seems to be that cooperation with Syria is impossible," Zebari said when asked about whether Western countries could team up with Syrian authorities in the fight against IS.
"As you know, Paris recently hosted a major international conference on peace and security in Iraq, in which the leaders [of Iraq] took part. I doubt that such a conference would even be possible to hold with the Syrian government," he said.
The International Conference on Peace and Security in Iraq was called in Paris by French President Francois Hollande in view of the growing IS threat in the Middle East. The conference, which took place on Monday, was attended by the foreign ministers of more than 20 countries, including Russia, as well as EU, UN and Arab League representatives.
Islamic State jihadists have been fighting the Syrian government since 2012 and started launching attacks in northern and western Iraq in June, 2014. The militants have seized vast areas in both countries and have proclaimed an Islamic caliphate on all the territories under their control.
On September 10, US President Barack Obama unveiled a strategy for defeating the IS that includes forming an international coalition to fight the radical organization and authorizing US airstrikes against IS positions in Syria, while simultaneously continuing airstrikes in Iraq.
Syria is ready to cooperate with a regional or international coalition against Islamic State militants, but will use "any necessary measures" against those who carry out aggression against the country, Syrian lawmaker Fayez Sayegh told RIA Novosti last week.
Syrian authorities have warned that any foreign military action on Syrian territory would be considered an act of aggression unless approved by Damascus.
