Both Obama and Hollande said they would welcome Russia’s involvement in the fight.
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Hollande and Merkel said they hoped tensions would calm between Russia and Turkey – two potential components of the anti-IS alliance – which fell out over the downing of a Russian warplane at the Turkish-Syrian border.
More than 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the country’s civil war and there is evidence the Assad regime has used chemical weapons.
In August 2014, the coalition led by the United States began air strikes against ISIL targets in Iraq, and from September in Syria, against the will of this latter country’s authorities.
Hollande was in Washington as part of a frantic week of shuttle diplomacy as he tries to rally global support for increased strikes against Islamic State, which claimed the Paris attacks. “Given Russia’s military capabilities and their influence on Assad, their cooperation can help the fight against IS”, Mr. Obama said.
“We do not want to exclude anyone”, he said.
S-400 is Russia’s most advanced air defense technology and is capable of intercepting and destroying airborne targets such as aircraft and ballistic and cruise missiles at distances of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles).
“The United States and France stand united, in total solidarity, to deliver justice to these terrorists”, Obama said.
Russian warplanes are targeting a wide array of rebel forces – including but not limited to Islamic State – opposed to Moscow’s ally, Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
In the aftermath of the Paris Attacks, French President Francois Hollande says the first call he got was from President Obama.
Hollande said he would bring that message to Moscow, where he is to meet with Putin later this week.
Obama maintained that Turkey had a right to defend its airspace and charged that Russian air activity near the Turkey-Syria border has contributed to the crisis.
Turkey’s attack on the plane comes as Putin is in the midst of a diplomatic campaign to cozy up to USA allies, especially France, in an apparent bid to create a so-called “grand coalition”.
“We’re mourning together with you over the losses the heavy losses France has suffered”, Putin said.
“All 27 member states have agreed to support France – whether in the form of direct support in the Syrian theater, indirect support to our operations in the Levant, or indirect support in other theaters where French forces are engaged”, he said, without giving details of the support.
Hollande said he wouldn’t set a deadline for Assad leaving office because “it must be as soon as possible”.
Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday defended his plan to not welcome Syrian refugees into Wisconsin, saying the Obama administration’s handling of the Paris terrorist attacks shows it can’t be trusted to ensure the refugees are not a threat on US soil. “The only objective is to fight against terrorism and this is what we must do”.
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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation held an emergency meeting and the White House worries it could alter the unified front against ISIL, already muddied by motives.
