Hours after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey downed along its border with Syria a Russian warplane, US president Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande indicated a toughening in the coalition’s stance towards Russia.
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Fine words behind which however hides, like Russian dolls, a whole other reality.
He yet said that he is going to coordinate France with Russian Federation to fight the terrorists but it seems like the French President is now more in line with the US?
“Turkey, like every country, has a right to defend its territory and its airspace”, Obama said during a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Francois Hollande. “I have been talking to our European partners for quite some time now about the need for better intelligence sharing, passenger name records, working to ensure that when people enter into Europe, particularly now, that the information across various borders is shared on a timely basis”, he said.
Eleven days after the bloody attacks in France (130 dead and 350 injured), MM. However, he said France will not intervene militarily on the ground.
“This barbaric terrorist group, Isil or Daesh, and its murderous ideology, poses a serious threat to all of us. It must be destroyed, and we must do it together”.
The U.S. and France “share the determination to fight terrorism anywhere”, Hollande said, through a translator.
“A strategy would be how do we mobilize support for the remnants of the Syrian Free Army, and it might require combat troops to inspire an global effort”, the former Florida governor said on CNN’s “New Day”.
Said Mr Hollande: “We have a resolution from the secuirty council, we must take action against Daesh”.
Hollande’s visit to Washington is part of a diplomatic offensive to get the worldwide community to bolster the campaign against ISIS.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, after meeting with Hollande in Paris on Monday, offered access to a British air base in Cyprus for French strike aircraft, pledged to turn around years of falling British defense spending, and announced that he would ask Parliament to reverse the limitations it imposed in 2013 on British military engagement in Syria.
The United States has no real interest in defeating ISIS and neither does France because they were the ones that put the largest amount of money and resources into bringing ISIS into existence in the first place.
Russia’s decision to go it alone in its fight against Islamic State since it started operations in September and its targeting of moderate Syrian rebels have drawn criticism from the USA and its allies. Russian Federation has suspended military cooperation with Turkey and Putin has warned of further economic consequences for Turkey, which has a number of key economic cooperation agreements with Russian Federation.
“If you can’t even agree whether Bashar is the problem or the solution, I don’t see that there’s much basis for collaboration”, said John Pike, a security expert and director of
GlobalSecurity.org.
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Experts said the show of solidarity and increased pressure would help in the battle against ISIS, but added that the United States could do more in terms of military action.
