(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Core members of the international coalition fighting against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stressed here on Tuesday the urgency of continuing and expanding actions again this insurgent group to counter its spread in the region and elsewhere, but they warned that this was going to be a "long-term" campaign.
Twenty-four delegations, almost all at the level of Foreign Ministers, gathered in the French capital to take stock of the anti-ISIL campaign and agreed it needed to be intensified and broadened.
But participants also underlined the "critical importance" of political reforms in Iraq to galvanize the whole population in the struggle against the ISIL insurgency.
The meeting was co-chaired by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi and US Deputy Secretary-of-State Anthony Blinken, who replaced his superior John Kerry who could not attend because of an accident.
Kuwait was represented by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah who arrived here Monday evening.
The European Union and the UN were also present as observers.
"The exchanges that we had allowed us to reaffirm our unity and our common determination to fight the terrorists from ISIL, who I call fake religious people but who are real criminals," Fabius said in a press statement after the meeting.
"We have had progress, we could have setbacks, but you must know that this is a long-term fight," the French Minister added.
The ongoing strategy is to be based on two key elements, first being the commitment to "a long-term strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL," the Coalition said in a final statement.
Increased resources are set to be given to the Iraqi forces on the frontline of fighting with ISIL and these will include better weaponry to combat tactics by the insurgency.
US official Blinken said that his government had promised to give Iraq anti-tank missiles to counter attacks by suicide bombers' vehicles.
Deliveries will begin "probably next week," Blinken said.
"We reflected on our fundamental strategy," Fabius said, adding that "in Iraq this consists of supporting Iraqi forces with air strikes, more equipment and training to allow the Iraqi government to recover the means of action needed to get victory over Da'ash." Al-Abadi had said ahead of the meeting that Iraq was unable to obtain the armament it needed to carry on the war on ISIL and he said his government had the finances but was unable to find sources for weapons.
Fabius said that the new efforts would focus on the Anbar Province, in addition to other areas.
Iraqi troops are bogged down and unable to dislodge ISIL forces from main urban areas like Ramadi in Anbar Province and will get more support in trying to do this.
Al-Abadi revealed a military strategy to be able to take back control in this area and this received full approval from the other Coalition members, Fabius and other officials confirmed.
Asked by KUNA if the US was satisfied with the meeting, Blinken said "Yes, it went well," and the US is to begin delivering more sophisticated weapons to the Iraqi forces.
The French Foreign Minister stressed, also, that the second part of the strategy concerned what Iraq needed to do to promote unity and national reconciliation.
Fabius said that "this military strategy cannot be disassociated from the implementation of the policy of national reconciliation in Iraq.
"The two things are linked," he remarked.
The meeting here was able to "confirm the necessary commitment of the Iraqi government to the full implementation of the reform programme which has been announced," he indicated.
This commitment includes a need to develop a non-sectarian National Guard and "to bring all armed groups under State control" in a addition to "strengthening the rule of law," ensuring "the respect of human rights for all" and developing a "policy of inclusiveness" and establishing fair representation of "all components of Iraqi society" in a Federal system.
The Coalition members expressed full support for these goals in Iraq and the government's implementation of these policies, as well as the need to take "concrete measures to address Iraqi citizens' legitimate grievances." While Iraq was the main focus of the discussions, the Syrian question was nonetheless addressed by the Coalition members, who agreed on "the inability and unwillingness of the Assad regime to fight Da'ash." They called for establishing a "transitional governing body with full executive powers" based on the principles of the Geneva talks in 2012.
Noting "the urgent need to find a political solution" in Syria, the Coalition said "the root cause" of the expansion of Da'ash must also be addressed.
ISIL must be defeated on a "sustainable" basis, the final statement affirmed, and the way to do this, in addition to the two strategies in Iraq, is by stopping the flow of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq, cutting of financing for the insurgency, countering the criminal ideology motivating ISIL and addressing the humanitarian crises this has caused.
They also discussed ways to stop weapons flowing into Syria. "A lot has been done", Blinken said, "but we still need to do some more." On foreign fighters, Al-Abadi said in remarks after the meeting that there were now more foreign fighters in ISIL than Iraqis, which was not the case some time ago.
Initially, he said, 60 percent of ISIL was made up of Iraqis and 40 percent by foreign fighters. These percentages are now reversed, the Iraqi Prime Minster said.
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