US, allies ‘not in the business of nation building,’ Tillerson says
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks of his country’s top priority in the Middle East, asserting that Washington does not seek “the business of nation building” in the region.
The American top diplomat made the remarks Wednesday while addressing a meeting of 68 countries at the State Department in Washington on how to tackle the Daesh Takfiri militancy.
The US-led coalition has been conducting strikes against what are said to be the Daesh terrorists inside Syria and Iraq.
“I recognize there are many pressing challenges in the Middle East, but defeating ISIL is the United States’ number one goal in the region," Tillerson said. "As a coalition we are not in the business of nation building or reconstruction.”
The former ExxonMobil CEO further vowed to work for "interim zones of stability" to help refugees return home.
"The United States will increase our pressure on ISIL and al-Qaeda and will work to establish interim zones of stability, through ceasefires, to allow refugees to return home," he said.
Tillerson made the remarks as Takfiri groups were increasingly losing ground in the two Muslim countries.
He further added that the next stage should involve "destroying" Daesh as opposed to just "containing" it, as previously mentioned.
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