ADDIS ABABA, November 6 (RIA Novosti) — Anti-government militias could turn against the countries that are supporting them in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry told RIA Novosti.
"In the end of the day, these [extremist] organizations will backfire on those who are trying to … cooperate with them, stressing the difference between those who they call moderate and more extremist parties. This is the same direction, though," Shoukry said.
"The situation requires time and the extension of the coalition in order to involve all … international community. Unfortunately, certain parties use this phenomenon to obtain certain benefits," he added.
Shoukry stressed that it is still too early to assess the results of the US-led military campaign against terrorism in Iraq and Syria, noting that the anti-terror action would take much longer as it is fighting extremist ideology.
"This confrontation must be a military, political, cultural one. Data exchange, elimination of funding sources, change of political speeches is required; there are a lot of elements and it cannot be solved overnight," he argued.
Asked whether Egypt was invited to join the military campaign against the IS, the minister underscored that Cairo had made it clear that it would not join any international military operation in the first days of the attacks.
The United States launched airstrikes against IS forces on Iraqi territory in August, following the proclamation of a caliphate by the group on territories it seized. The following month, the air campaign was extended to Syria, with Arab allies of the United States joining the attacks.
Washington has formed a broad international coalition, whose members also provide aid to Kurdish fighters and "moderate" Syrian opposition militants, to fight terrorism in the Middle East. Russia has said it is not interested in joining coalitions established by bypassing the United Nations and has repeatedly expressed concern over Western aid being given to anti-government fighters in Syria.
