MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to a statement issued by the US State Department, "coalition partners will review progress to date and discuss ways to further intensify commitments across all lines of effort to degrade and defeat this terrorist group," in the Italian capital.
Besides US State Secretary John Kerry, the meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition will be attended by representatives of Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, the European Union, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The United Nations will send its envoys as observers.
The US-led international coalition has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh, which is prohibited in Russia and many other countries, in Iraq and Syria since 2014, without the approval of the UN Security Council or the Syrian government.
Russia launched its own air campaign against the extremist group in Syria on September 30, upon a request from Damascus.
