The Russian warplanes have been pounding Syrian rebels and Islamic State fighters, and they have raised western concerns about a possible clash with US-led coalition planes also flying missions over Syria.
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He visited Washington on Tuesday and is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
Shortly after the incident, Obama who was hosting visiting French President Francois Hollande, reiterated his support for the Turkish military’s decision. On Tuesday morning, the meeting between Obama and Hollande will be followed by a news conference, which Earnest said will help with the strategy against ISIS.
“I have come here so that we could find a solution and move together on this path, effectively fighting the common enemy and searching for political solutions to settle the situation in Syria”, Hollande said. Until the Paris attacks, France had participated in strikes in Iraq but only a handful of times in Syria, where the Islamic State has its de facto capital.
French police said they were analysing a suspected suicide belt similar to those used in the Paris attacks, found without its detonator in a dustbin in the Montrouge suburb of the capital.
He called the IS a “barbaric terrorist group”, saying “its murderous ideology poses a serious threat to all of us” and that the militant group can not be tolerated and must be destroyed.
But the president also theorized that the shoot-down is indicative of a problem with Russia’s targeting of moderate opposition supported by Turkey and other countries. “Today we stand with you – nous somme tous Francais”.
President Obama welcomed President François Hollande of France to the White House on Tuesday to map out the future of the global campaign against the Islamic State as pressure rose for a more aggressive approach. But he insisted a partnership is impossible as long as Russian Federation stands by Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is blamed by the USA for plunging his country into chaos and creating the vacuum that allowed the Islamic State group to strengthen.
Both Presidents don’t know when Assad will leave office.
Hollande’s stop in Washington, D.C., is part of his whirlwind diplomatic tour to garner support from a broader coalition following the November 13 attacks on Paris that left some 129 dead. “This is what we must do, all of us – we, Turkey and Russia”, Mr Hollande said.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Hollande, Obama cited in particular Europe’s resistance to sharing information on airline passengers.
Obama said it has been noted that the terrorists did not direct their attacks against the French government or military; rather, they focused their violence on the very spirit of France and, by extension, on all liberal democracies. The Russian Ministry of Defence said the plane was over Syrian territory “throughout the flight”.
Like expected, there were some differences in opinions, but Barack Obama and Francois Hollande managed to put together their best ideas on how to confront ISIS.
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Even before the incident between Turkey and Russia, Hollande faced a tough challenge in getting Obama to agree to a partnership with Moscow. So I don’t think he will become what we want him to be – safer and calmer.
