Independence Movement leader Michel Moawad said Wednesday that ISIS cannot be defeated by supporting the authoritarian Syrian region, urging support for the Lebanese Army and moderate factions to confront terrorism.

“We shouldn’t fight Sunni extremism with Shiite extremism,” Moawad said following a meeting in Sydney with a Future Movement delegation headed by Omar Shehadeh, the movement’s representative in Australia.

Later in the day, Moawad met with delegations of the Lebanese Forces and the Democratic Left party. The discussions touched on enhancing cooperation between members of the March 14 coalition in the Diaspora.