Russia will keep cooperating with the United States and its partners to fight Islamic State in Syria, but that cooperation will be in jeopardy if there are any repeats of Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian jet, Russia’s Vladimir Putin said.
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Putin said after talks with French President Francois Hollande that Russian Federation is open to closer cooperation with both France and the U.S.-led coalition on selecting IS targets.
Putin indicated France and Russian Federation would swap data to help identify ISIS targets in Syria, as opposed to other groups opposed to the country’s leader, Bashar al-Assad.
In advance of Hollande’s meeting with Putin, France sought to dismiss concerns that it might soften its stance on global sanctions against Russian Federation over Ukraine in exchange for Russia’s cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State.
France will also increase its support to rebel groups battling Islamic State on the ground in Syria, Hollande added.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pledged to stand beside France in its fight against the extremist group after talks with Hollande, vowing to act “swiftly” to see how Germany can help in the fight against terrorism.
Putin said Moscow was ready to unite with Paris against a “mutual enemy”, but he reaffirmed Moscow’s long-standing view that Assad and the Syrian government were also allies in the fight against terrorism.
Hollande said the downing of the Russian jet highlighted the need for countries to coordinate their military activities more closely to avoid a possible repetition of what he called a “regrettable incident”.
Von der Leyen said the warship would help protect France’s aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean and the tanker planes could help refuel French warplanes in the air.
Putin is fuming over Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter on the Syrian border and deep splits remain between Russia and the West over Assad’s fate. The satellite surveillance could provide important information on IS and also help protect civilians with precise information.
As the leader of the anti-IS coalition, the US should have made sure that the Russian warplanes aren’t targeted by its members, Putin said.
With two suspects of the Paris attacks at large, tensions were still high in Belgium on Thursday with the capital, Brussels.
Germany now provides weapons and training for Kurds fighting against IS in Iraq.
Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens said Paris fugitive Salah Abdeslam was “likely” getting support from others, saying it was unlikely Abdeslam could hide despite a almost two-week manhunt without help.
Both countries recently suffered devastating terrorist attacks.
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Hours later, Prime Minister Charles Michel announced the alert level in Brussels was being lowered one notch from the highest level, on which it has been since Saturday. Michel did not give a reason for the reduction.
