UK Will Only Send Ground Troops to Syria After Political Crisis Settled

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that at the moment in Syria there are forces that could cooperate with London to help eliminate ISIL, such as the Free Syrian Army and Kurdish militias.

LONDON (Sputnik) — London will consider sending ground troops to combat Islamic State (ISIL) jihadists in Syria only after a political settlement of the crisis in the Middle Eastern country, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday.

"The full range of the ground troops will only be available when there is a political settlement in Syria," he said adding that at the moment in Syria there are forces that could cooperate with London to help eliminate ISIL, such as the Free Syrian Army and Kurdish militias.

Talking on the necessity to wait for parliamentary approval of the aerial campaign in Syria, Cameron stressed that the United Kingdom "can’t wait" and "should be acting now with our allies because it is about keeping our own people and our own country safe."

Cameron said earlier this week he was going to unveil his plan to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIL) terror group in Syria. The roadmap will reportedly be presented to the Commons on Thursday.

The United Kingdom is a member of an international coalition of more than 60 countries working together to destroy ISIL in Syria and Iraq. London has been carrying out airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq since September 2014, but had not as yet extended its campaign to Syria, as Cameron lost a parliamentary vote in 2013.

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Western states have provided military aid to opposition factions which they consider to be "moderate," and have called for President Bashar Assad to resign.