ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The U.S. and France are working to pull together an international coalition to fight the Islamic State group, but it’s proving to be a complicated effort.
Secretary of State John Kerry visited Turkey on Friday to press its leaders to take action to stem the flow of fighters and money to the group. Turkey has resisted publicly endorsing a new global strategy to defeat the Islamic State group, which has kidnapped 49 Turkish citizens, including some diplomats.
Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande (frahn-SWAH’ oh-LAWND’) paid a visit to Baghdad to bolster new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (HY’-dahr ahl ah-BAH’-dee) and is planning an international conference Monday in Paris. France would like to invite Iran to that meeting, but Kerry says that would be inappropriate, given the differences Tehran has with the West, including its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Many world leaders want to act quickly, before the Islamic State group gains more territory. But they are also trying to avoid the bitter diplomatic divisions created by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a decade ago.
%@AP Links
232-a-08-(Secretary of State John Kerry, at news conference)-“not be appropriate”-Secretary of State John Kerry says Iran should not participate in Monday’s meeting of diplomats set in Paris given its support for the very government in Syria whose brutality helped fuel the Islamic State group. (12 Sep 2014)
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233-a-08-(Secretary of State John Kerry, at news conference)-“is doing what”-Secretary of State John Kerry says it’s not the time to say how various countries might participate in President Obama’s strategy to defeat Islamic State militants. (12 Sep 2014)
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