‘No plans to send ground troops to Syria’

Bahrain has no intentions of sending ground troops to take part in the ongoing military operations in Syria, confirmed Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa recently.

“The Kingdom of Bahrain is internationally committed to its stances to fight terrorism and it’s continuing its war against terrorism within the international coalition against the Islamic State terrorist organisation since 2014,” said the Minister.

He also explained that Bahrain is contributing in areal and naval fields of the coalition’s operations, adding that the Kingdom supports the efforts of the GCC countries, and that “each has their own capabilities.”

This came in an interview with Russia Today (RT) on Sunday, on the sidelines of the visit of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to Russia. Shaikh Khalid rejected describing the Saudi-Emirati stances, which announced its readiness to send ground troops to Syria.

He emphasised that “the announcements reflect the existing consensus in fighting a regional mutual enemy, which is the Islamic State terrorist organisation.”

During the televised interview, he highlighted several matters that included economic, commercial and military cooperation between Bahrain and Russia, in addition to several regional matters such as the Iranian intervention in the region and general regional and international topics.