Unity within G-20 key to fight IS

The threat of Islamic State was the focus of the just-concluded G20 summit at Antalya in Turkey. Summits of the grouping have traditionally focused on global economic concerns. However, with the IS unleashing a string of horrific attacks in Paris on the eve of the Antalya summit – the attacks left at least 129 people dead and over 350 others injured – G20 leaders directed their attention to combating the group. World leaders discussed ways to forge a more robust and coordinated approach to fight this terrorist group. Their speeches revealed a long-overdue unity in confronting the IS. Even a few days prior to the summit, Russia and the US were at loggerheads with each other over Moscow’s aerial strikes in Syria; their positions determined more by their support/ opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rather than the threat posed by the IS itself. But the Paris carnage forced G20 leaders to come together somewhat to fight the IS. Tentative steps towards reaching a common ground were visible at Antalya. Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly expressed willingness to provide air support to Syrian opposition groups to fight the IS. Until now, several of these anti-Assad groups, which are backed by the West, were being targeted by Russian airstrikes.

At the summit, US President Barack Obama appreciated Russia’s role in weakening IS, a shift from the US denunciation hitherto of Russian air strikes. Does it signal a new willingness on the part of the Obama administration to work with Putin? At Antalya, Obama said his government would escalate use of special operations forces, air strikes and drones in Iraq and Syria. He has rightly rejected calls from Republicans at home to send ground troops to Syria to fight the IS.

The question is whether the show of unity with regard to confronting the IS, that was apparent at the summit, will translate to cooperation on the ground. Fighting IS requires not only air strikes but also concerted efforts to halt the flow of weapons into Iraq and Syria. The US and its western allies as well as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, must halt arms supply to Syrian opposition groups, as these weapons are finding their way to IS hands. Importantly, unity is needed on a political approach to end the conflict. The international community must work together to nudge the Syrian government and opposition groups to reach a settlement. Collaboration within the G20 on fighting IS should pave the way for greater cooperation in the UN on tackling not just the IS but other terrorist groups as well.