French aircraft carrier is touring the Mediterranean ... soon

On Tuesday evening, Defense Minister Florence Parly told the parliamentary defense committee that "the next mission of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be to reinforce our forces participating in Shaml operation," the French part of the international military operation led by the United States against ISIS mercenaries in Iraq and Syria.

"The aircraft carrier will therefore be deployed in the first half of 2021 in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean," Florence added, stressing that this commitment confirms, if necessary, our will to fight terrorism permanently and unconditionally.

And for a woman, after the spread of the new Coronavirus, since the beginning of the year 2020, the French aircraft carrier will carry out a mission again, as nearly two-thirds of its crew had been infected with the virus.

And Florence Parley indicated that there are "nearly 900 soldiers who continue to fight against ISIS as part of Shaml operation" of the International Coalition Against Mercenaries.

In addition, Parley expressed her concern about the "re-emergence" of ISIS mercenaries in Iraq and Syria.

"France considers that ISIS is still present, and we can even talk about some form of ISIS resurgence in Syria and Iraq," the Defense Minister said during a television interview on Sunday.

The administration of the outgoing US President Donald Trump announced its intention to withdraw 500 soldiers from Iraq in mid-January, in a move that would reduce the number of US forces in this country to 2,500 soldiers.

The majority of countries participating in the international coalition to combat mercenaries had withdrawn most of their soldiers from Iraq with the start of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The French aircraft carrier returns to the eastern Mediterranean waters coinciding with the continuing tensions between Paris and Ankara due to their differences in the ongoing conflict in Syria and Libya, as well as because of Turkey's gas exploration work in waters disputed with Greece and Cyprus, in addition to their recent dispute over the war, which took place between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Artsakh / Karabakh.

Tensions flared up between Paris and Ankara in October, when Erdogan questioned the "mental health" of his Macron counterpart, accusing him of launching a "hate campaign" against Islam, while Ankara recently seemed to want to defuse the crisis.

T/S

ANHA