REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday urged member nations of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) to boost efforts in the campaign.

Calling the defeat of IS the "number one goal" of the United States in the Middle East, Tillerson urged other foreign ministers of the 68-nation coalition gathering here for discussion of counter-IS campaign to fulfil financial pledges to help rebuild areas in Syria and Iraq regained from IS militants. "When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. We must continue to keep our focus on the most urgent matter at hand," said Tillerson.

Meanwhile, Tillerson told his counterparts from the U.S.-led coalition that the White House under U.S. President Donald Trump was considering "a more defined course of action in Syria."

He also alluded to establishment of "interim zones of stability" in Syria to allow refugees to return home. However, he did not provide details on any plan.

Despite mounting pressure, Trump's predecessor Barack Obama had adamantly declined to establish "safe zones" in Syria to avoid increasing U.S. military involvement there. Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing on Wednesday, U.S. military spokesman Colonel Joe Scrocca told reporters that the U.S. military had not received any direction to establish "any types of zones".

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