Trump to make significant announcement on ISIS next week, says Pompeo

Washington: The US President Donald Trump will make a significant announcement on the status of the fight against the ISIS in Syria during his State of the Union Address next week, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said.

Trump is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union Address in a joint session of the US Congress on February 5.

“The President will make a significant announcement, I think, in the State of the Union next week with respect to the status of the caliphate, the real estate, the grounds from which ISIS had been operating in Syria when this administration came in,” Pompeo told Fox News in an interview.

Pompeo also informed that Trump would host foreign ministers of the “Global Coalition to Defeat the ISIS” and have discussions with them. 

“You remember prisoners in cages, people kneeling on the beaches and being beheaded. This was tragic. Next week on February 6, he is hosting foreign ministers of the “Global Coalition to Defeat the ISIS” for an in-depth discussion on defeating them,” he said.

“We also know that in spite of the enormous progress we’ve made and the success that we’ve had, that the threat from radical Islamic terrorism is real and we need to continue to do all that we can to make sure that there’s not a resurgence of ISIS or that all the other variants of that terror regime continue to be under pressure,” he added. 

Pompeo said that President Trump will do everything to keep America safe from threats. 

“President Trump has made clear it is a priority for him, and as the Secretary of State, I can promise the American people we will continue to do all that we can to keep them safe from this threat,” Pompeo said.

President Trump in December last year surprised the world by announcing that he is withdrawing 2,000 American troops from Syria. The pullout has already started.

Earlier in the day, Pompeo met with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, during which they exchanged information on developments connected to the planned, phased withdrawal of US troops from Syria now that the ISIS Caliphate has been defeated. 

“Both sides underscored their resolve to continue the campaign to completely eradicate ISIS in the Core and its global network of extremists,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Paladino said.