PRAGUE (Sputnik) — The debate at last Wednesday’s EU summit revealed that no member state supports ground operations against the Islamic State (ISIL) extremists, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said Monday.
"We have already witnessed the military intervention in Iraq. We have been involved in operations in Afghanistan for a number of years. There was a military intervention in Libya. Now we see the results of all this… And the debate on Wednesday at the EU summit confirmed that none of the European countries is in favor of ground operations [against the ISIL] in Syria or Iraq," Sobotka stated.
At the same time, if the European bloc wants to ease the current refugee crisis, it is first necessary to defeat or significantly weaken ISIL, he added.
However, the "key word" here belongs to the Arab states, according to Sobotka.
According to the politician, the Czech Republic actively participates in the fight against the ISIL extremists. In particular, it has sent 500 tons of ammunition to the armed forces of Iraqi Kurdistan and, in the near future, it will deliver its L-159 light combat aircraft to Iraq. Czech instructors will train Iraqi police officers and provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees in the region.
This week, Sobotka will participate in a New York summit focusing on the fight against IS. In turn, Czech President Milos Zeman will propose an anti-ISIL fight plan that presupposes the participation of Russia, China, the United States and the European Union and the creation of an international force under the aegis of the United Nations at the UN General Assembly session on Tuesday.
