Hollande, Putin agree to work closely to fight Islamic State in Syria

PanARMENIAN.Net - France and Russia will exchange intelligence on Islamic State and other rebel groups to improve the effectiveness of their aerial bombing campaigns in Syria, French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday, November 26, after talks with Vladimir Putin, Reuters reports.

However, the two men remained at odds over the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russia whom Western and Sunni Arab countries blame for Syria's nearly five-year civil war and want removed from power.

Speaking after a working dinner in the Kremlin with Putin, Hollande said they had agreed to target only Islamic State and similar jihadi groups in Syria. The West has accused Moscow of targeting mostly Western-backed rebel groups fighting Assad.

"What we agreed, and this is important, is to strike only terrorists and Daesh (Islamic State) and to not strike forces that are fighting terrorism. We will exchange information about whom to hit and whom not to hit," Hollande told a joint news conference with Putin.

France will also increase its support to rebel groups battling Islamic State on the ground in Syria, Hollande added.

Hollande is on a diplomatic offensive to build a common front against the militant Islamist group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris on November 13 that killed 130 people.

Islamic State has also said it downed a Russian plane on October 31 over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, killing all 224 people on board.

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.

"I believe that the fate of the president of Syria must stay in the hands of the Syrian people," Putin said, in stark contrast to Hollande, who insisted Assad could play no future political role in the country.