Russia urged to launch strikes against Islamic State

PanARMENIAN.Net - France challenged Russia to back its words with deeds over fighting Islamic State militants in Syria as major powers on Tuesday, September 29 struggled to resolve differences between Moscow and the West over ending the civil war in the Middle Eastern country, according to Reuters.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has sent warplanes and tanks to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, called for a new anti-Islamic State coalition, diplomats pursued new ways to build a solid front against the militants.

Ideas suggested on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York included using the model of a small group of world powers that succeeded in negotiating the July 14 Iran nuclear deal, and breathing new life into a virtually moribund broader UN peace mechanism.

"What's important in the fight against Islamic State is not the media strike, it's the real strike," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in response Putin's statements Monday at the gathering of world leaders.

Fabius said the Russians "talk a lot, but as far as I can tell they haven't committed any planes against Islamic State." He added: "If it (Russia) is against the terrorists, it's not abnormal to launch strikes against them."

A U.S.-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State targets in Syria for about a year with a separate coalition with some of the same countries striking the militants in neighboring Iraq.

The militants control large areas in both countries, exploiting chaos created in Syria by a civil war that began more than four years ago when Assad cracked down on protests against his government.