Germany's Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) told reporters at a shared press conference that in addition to the military campaign against the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria, attempts at bringing about a political solution to the conflict were still required in the future, Deutsche Welle reported.
Steinmeier and von der Leyen said that the campaign in Syria was fully supported by international law. In the absence of a concrete UN mandate to fight IS, von der Leyen and Steinmeier cited a recent UN resolution passed after the Paris attacks with the intention of repelling IS in Syria using "all means necessary," which they said provided sufficient grounds for Germany to get involved in non-violent aspects of the mission.
Germany plans to deploy several Tornado reconnaissance jets, a refueling aircraft and a frigate to help protect the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Germany had already committed to sending up to 650 more soldiers to Mali to help the French in their fight against Islamic militants there.
Steinmeier also said that Germany's willingness to help France and the U.S.-led coalition in their beefed-up efforts against IS was a matter of defending Germany's reputation in the world while also showing solidarity.
