US President Barack Obama delivers a speech against the Islamic State.

The diplomats discussed terrorism, extremist groups, and ways to defeat them. Earlier Kerry met with his Saudi Arabian and Bahraini counterparts—Prince Saud al-Faisal and Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa. Kerry is on a tour of the Middle-East to promote President Barack Obama’s plan to “degrade and ultimately destroy the IS.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich said Thursday that the fight against the militant group needs to abide by international law, including UN Security Council resolutions, and respect Syria’s territorial integrity. Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, called for respecting the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria. Obama has pledged to continue air-strikes in Iraq and Syria.
Syrian and Iranian officials have criticized the White House for rejecting their participation in the coalition to fight the IS. Syrian Minister of National Reconciliation Ali Haidar reiterated Syria’s consistent policy that any air-strike in Syria without Damascus’s permission is an invasion. Marzieh Afkham, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said she is sceptical about the international coalition against the IS, because some of its members have supported terrorism in Iraq and Syria, and condemned the West’s “double standard.” The German and UK foreign ministers said Germany and the UK will not get involved in air-strikes against the IS in Syria.