Israel not planning to join coalition fighting IS in Syria, Iraq - foreign minister
MOSCOW. Jan 28 (Interfax) - Israel does not see itself joining international efforts to combat terrorist groups acting in Syria and Iraq, including the Islamic State, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.
"There is no reason for us to meddle. They are acting in Syria and Iraq, not on our territory, and there is quite a broad coalition of NATO, European Union, and Arab countries there, and they have enough of their own resources," Lieberman said in an interview with Interfax.
On the other hand, nobody has so far invited Israel to the international coalition set up by the United States to fight the Islamic State, he said.
"We are observing this, and if we are addressed, we will weigh such a possibility," he added.
Lieberman also said he hoped weapons of mass destruction would not fall into the hands of terrorists.
"It appears that there should be no chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction there [in Syria and Iraq], not to mention nuclear weapons. Therefore, at this stage I'd like to proceed from the assumption that there have been no and will be no such weapons there," he said.
"And if they fall into their hands, well, I think then we would have to address this problem all together, not only Israel but primarily the UN Security Council permanent members, because this would be a direct and immediate threat to the entire international community," he said.