Military action in Iraq should have U.N. mandate, says Czech foreign minister

Military action in Iraq should have a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek has said. He made the statement on Friday evening on Czech TV, a day after US President Barack Obama authorized the US military to begin conducting targeted strikes on Islamic State (IS) fighters in northern Iraq. The Czech foreign minister agreed it was necessary to act for humanitarian reasons and made clear he did not think Mr Obama was continuing his predecessor’s policies. The US president told the NYT in an interview that the US would not allow militants to “create some caliphate through Syria and Iraq”. The Czech Republic is considering whether to deliver arms to Kurdish units under attack from radicals in northern Iraq, as well as sending additional humanitarian aid, Mr Zaorálek said Friday.

Author: Jan Velinger