French warplanes have destroyed a training camp in eastern Syria, President François Hollande announced on Sunday morning.
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The military action came as Western powers were struggling to rebuild a consensus on a new diplomatic strategy to end the war in Syria that would likely include Iran.
The diplomat whose name was not revealed said Hollande made the remarks during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in New York on Sunday.
Islamic extremists killed 17 people in a quick succession of attacks in Paris in January, including the shooting deaths of staff members in the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
France was ready to join air strikes on Assad’s forces in Syria in 2013 before US President Barack Obama backed off the plan.
In addition, Paris has become alarmed by Islamic State gains in northern Syria and the possibility of France being sidelined in negotiations to reach a political solution in Syria.
With the airstrikes, France is walking a fine line between the need to prevent further terrorist attacks on its soil orchestrated by Isis elements in Syria and its willingness to exclude Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian leader, from any political resolution in the region.
“We are hitting Daesh because this terrorist organization prepares its attacks against France from Syria”.
In New York, all eyes will be on Putin, who is expected to announce a counterterrorism initiative when he addresses the General Assembly on Monday – his first UNGA appearance in 10 years.
A spokeswoman for Mr Cameron said: “We are clear ISIL poses a threat as much to Russian Federation as it does to Europe and other countries around the world and therefore we should be able to find a way forward to work together”.
Hollande had said this month that France might start air surveillance missions over Syria, and a week later, his defense minister confirmed that France was gathering intelligence to conduct airstrikes on Islamic State targets there.
The Russian diplomat also accused French political leaders of being “artists” for calling the referendum in Crimea an “annexion” while saying their military operations in Syria are “self defence”.
France slammed “murderous bombings” of the Bashar al-Assad regime and called for a comprehensive response to the Syrian crisis.
The official, however, added that Hollande said “the question of [Syrian President Bashar] Assad could not be offered as an answer”.
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The French Presidency said this information was used to carry out Sunday’s strikes, which had been launched in coordination with its partners in the US-led coalition.
