Anti-ISIS Coalition in Disagreement on How to Handle Militants

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The foreign ministers of the coalition against ISIS held a meeting yesterday (November 14) in Washington, discussing how to handle foreign ISIS members in Syria, Turkey's military operation in the country and the US decision to reduce the number of its soldiers in the region.

"No one should expect the United States or anyone else to solve this problem for them," Nathan Sales, the coordinator of the US State Department's counterterrorism bureau, said after the meeting.

"Our view is that it is not a feasible option to ask other countries in the region to import another country's foreign fighters and pursue prosecution and incarceration there."

In the meeting, the European members of the coalition were "reluctant" about taking back the ISIS militants who are their citizens because of "the difficulty of collecting evidence", "increased risk of terrorist attacks in their countries", and "reaction from the public," according to a report by Euronews.

Sales also warned the European countries that the US-backed Kurdish groups are currently guarding the captured ISIS members but this "relatively stable" situation might not last long.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in the meeting that the region is "not a dump yard for foreign terrorist fighters," adding that "Stripping off their citizenships does not remove these countries' responsibility."

The international coalition counts 81 partner nations, including the whole of NATO.

The minister stated that Turkey captured 287 foreign ISIS members and their families and will work for these people to return to their countries.

The Ministry of Interior announced on Monday (November 11) that it began to repatriate ISIS members. (PT/VK)