U.S. and France on Tuesday said they would like Russia
to be part of their joint efforts to fight the Islamic State in Syria
and Iraq, but put the onus on Russia to prove its credentials by giving
up its support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Hours
after NATO member Turkey downed along its border with Syria a Russian
warplane, U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Francois
Hollande indicated a toughening in the coalition’s stance towards
Russia. “We have a global coalition of 65 countries and Russia is an
outlier. Russia and Iran are a coalition of two, supporting Assad. Given
Russia’s military capabilities and their influence on Assad, their
cooperation can help the fight against IS,” Mr. Obama said.
“But
Russia must make a strategic shift” he said, Mr. Hollande by his side
at the White House, after a meeting in which they decided to “broaden
and intensify strikes” against IS targets.
Mr.
Obama defended the Turkish strike that brought down the Russian plane.
“Every country has a right to protect its territory and its airspace,”
he said, suggesting that Russia was responsible for it. “Russia and
Turkey must talk to each other. This points to an ongoing problem as
Russian planes have been targeting moderate opposition forces in that
area, who are supported, also by Turkey,” Mr. Obama said while Mr.
Hollande added he could “only regret” the incident. Mr. Hollande called
for Russia and Turkey to take measures to avoid escalation of the
conflict. Asked whether the coalition could consider coordinated
operation with Russia against IS, Mr. Obama said for that to happen,
Russia must “refocus its attention on IS.”
Ask Russia to give up
its support to Syrian President al-Assad
Source :- The Hindu, 25-Nov-2015
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