The Obama Administration's efforts to build an international coalition against Islamic State militants is an ongoing process and there is no timeline for it, the White House said today.
"The effort to build the coalition is something that will be ongoing," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference.
For weeks now, he said, US President Barack Obama and members of the cabinet, including Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry, have been actively engaged with their counterparts in countries around the world related to contributions to this broader coalition to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL, he noted.
Creation of the international coalition against ISIL, he said, is a high priority.
"We have seen important public commitments from individuals countries around the globe indicating their support for the goals that the president has laid out for this broader coalition.
"We will never reach the place, or at least I don't anticipate reaching a place, maybe I'll be wrong, but I don't anticipate that we will reach a place where we sort of stand up from the desk and say, 'Our efforts to build this coalition have been completed'," he said, adding that this is an ongoing work.
"That is work that has been going on for weeks in advance of the United Nations General Assembly. It's work that will occurred during the United Nations General Assembly. And the efforts of the president and other members of this team to build this coalition will continue long after the United Nations General Assembly has gavelled to a close," Earnest said.
