UAE to Send Ground Troops to Fight ISIS in Syria

Abu Dhabi- The United Arab Emirates has said that it is ready to supply ground troops to help support and train an international military coalition against ISIS in Syria, provided such efforts were led by the United States.

When asked whether the UAE could be expected to send ground troops to Syria, and if so, under what circumstances, during a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and FNC Minister, said: “I think that this has been our position throughout… that a real campaign has to include ground elements.”

Dr Gargash said that any potential supply of troops would not have to be particularly large.

“We are not talking about a thousand troops but we are talking about troops on the ground that will lead the way, that will train, that will support… and I think our position remains the same and we will have to see how this progresses.”

He added that the UAE had been frustrated at the slow pace of the international efforts against ISIS “although there has been some progress in Iraq recently, of confronting ISIS.”

Gargash said the UAE had always stated that there also needed to be a “genuine political process in Baghdad that will encompass the Sunnis” in Iraq, which has a Shia-led government.

Gargash talked in the press conference about His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to India.

He confirmed that the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces will begin on Wednesday a three-day long official visit to India, where he will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

While visiting India, Mohammed bin Zayed will discuss with senior Indian officials ways to strengthen cooperation and friendship between the two countries

in the light of continuous coordination and consultations regarding regional and international issues of mutual concern.