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Germany will not take part in airstrikes against IS in Syria

September 12, 2014 at 11:01 am

Germany Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that his country was not asked to take part in airstrikes against IS in Syria and would not participate in them.

The Anadolu news agency reported Steinmeier as saying, during a joint press conference with his British counterpart Philip Hammond in Berlin, that his country does not have a strategy to deal with the Islamic State’s threat or similar radical organisations; adding “therefore we must find ways to curb the organisation’s strength and arms”.

Steinmeier stressed the that the issue cannot be resolved by military force alone, pointing out that US President Barack Obama’s recent speech about the United States’ strategy towards the organisation also indicates that a military solution alone is not enough.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond welcomed efforts to arm the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq against the Islamic State.

He commended the role of Germany in protecting the security of Western democratic societies, pointing out that Britain will contribute to the strategy put forward by Obama.