AFP, Switzerland :US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday said the US-led coalition bombing ISIS strongholds in Syria and Iraq will reach their goal of “seriously denting” the group by the end of 2016.”I think that by the end of 2016, our goal of very seriously denting Daesh in Iraq and Syria and of trying to have an impact on Mosul and Raqa will be achieved,” Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, using an alternative name for ISIS.”We are on track, we are doing serious damage to Daesh today. They lost 35 per cent, 40 per cent of their territory that they control, 40 per cent in Iraq, 20 per cent to 30 per cent total,” he said.The coalition includes Gulf states and Britain. Russian and French jets have also been pounding IS positions.Kerry said he would meet the foreign ministers of 24 coalition nations in Rome on February 2 to discuss strategy and possible “additional commitments”.”(Defence Secretary Ashton Carter) was just in Paris meeting with coalition members, they are all committed,” Kerry said.The US has called on allies to contribute special forces as a key part of their effort to bolster coalition forces fighting the jihadist group.US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that initial talks in Geneva involving the Syrian government and opposition groups would be “proximity talks”, not a face-to-face meeting of participants.”The first meeting will be proximity talks … you are not going to have a situation where they are sitting down at the table staring at each other or shouting at each other; you are going to have to build some process here, and that’s what will begin,” Kerry told reporters at a roundtable meeting in Davos, Switzerland.Kerry also said UN Special Envoy for Syria Steffan de Mistura would probably not send invitations out until Sunday.”What will happen is, on Monday there will be some discussions (in Geneva), but I would say that by Tuesday and Wednesday, people will be able to get there. We just see this is as logistical … we are just kind of lining pieces up here. We’ll see where we are.”
