“At least 36 people were killed and dozens more injured in more than 70 raids carried out by Russian and Syrian planes against several districts in Deir Ezzor”, Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group told AFP.
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The French president plans to reiterate that message when he visits the White House on Tuesday, but he is facing deep skepticism in Washington. At the G-20 summit in Turkey over the weekend, Obama and Putin spent 30 minutes in conversation.
On the surface, the talks on Syria appeared to narrow the gap that divides Russian Federation, which like Iran supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the West, which wants Assad out.
However, Russian Federation and the West remain deeply divided about the future of Assad and the role of his government in approving military operations in Syria. “Instead of weakening Assad, we should support him in his fight against all terrorist groups in Syria”.
Zakharova cited remarks by the Syrian ambassador in Moscow, according to which countries that coordinate their military actions with Russian Federation are regarded by Syria as coordinating their actions with Syria. The IS-affiliated Sinai Province group claimed responsibility for the attack in which 224 people died, saying it was revenge for Russia’s intervention in Syria.
If the US, France and other allies end up fighting alongside the Russians to take down Islamic State – in partnership again as in World War II – that would be gratifying and logical. As Syria’s closest neighbour it has suffered most from the refugee crisis and has a vested interest in ending the civil war as soon as possible.
Monitoring group says over two-thirds of casualties are combatants..
Now, in light of the Paris attacks, the Russian President has miraculously been transmogrified into a man of stature – an important ally in the battle against Islamic State (ISIS) militants. There is no solution except to come to an agreement with the United States; and there is no way to do that unless Assad is eased out.
Earlier this week, Masrour Barzani, the head of intelligence and security in Iraqi Kurdistan, said IS was not significantly weakened by the aerial bombardments of the US-led coalition and Russian Federation.
Obama has focused his ire on Republicans throughout the trip, harshly criticizing GOP lawmakers and presidential candidates for acting contrary to American values. With the brutality of ISIS demanding a global response and more refugees in Europe than at any time since World War Two, we won’t know until their memoirs are written whether Obama and Putin feel the weight of history, and whether they can set aside their differences to confront a common enemy the way FDR did with Josef Stalin to confront Hitler.
Would President Obama and President Putin answer the call to forge a grand alignment to defeat the Islamic State?
“It is worth us remembering when we look at the statistics that there are handsome, wonderful lives behind the awful death tolls we see in these places”, he said.
Follow Josh Lederman at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP. Even a US proposal that Assad be excluded from the eventual elections was rejected, according to Iranian officials.
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Obama was speaking after a meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino in Manila.
