Obama Says Putin a ‘Constructive Companion’ in Syria Talks

But Waddah Abed Rabbo, editor-in-chief of Al-Watan daily, which is close to the government, said: ‘Syria’s president is much more realistic than the Vienna declaration. “They will have to make a fundamental shift, I believe, in policy”.

However, a few countries have raised concerns that Russia’s motive is to bolster the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Russian forces did not, however, give United States forces their target set.

“If that becomes a trend and that continues, again, we think that would be the most constructive role for Russian Federation to play so that they are a part of what we are doing as a coalition to go after ISIL safe havens”, Rhodes said.

He said earlier that Russian warplanes were focusing their strikes on the IS’ oil production and refining facilities as well as oil trucks. They cited furious exchanges between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which back opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, and said cooperation between those two rivals appeared all but impossible.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the time has come for the “next level” of strikes on the Islamic State group in Syria, as Moscow informed Lebanon that it would be carrying out a drill inside its airspace over the Mediterranean Sea in the coming days.

Of course, all this high-tech new weaponry won’t necessarily change the balance of power in Syria or bring the country’s bloody war to a swift end. “It’s because it is unimaginable that you can stop the civil war there when the overwhelming majority of people in Syria consider him to be a brutal, murderous dictator”, he said.

He also added that the Russian military has started cooperating with its French counterparts, as ordered by President Putin.

He also said that due to the Russian aerial attacks, the number of militants entering Syria in order to join or train with ISIS – terrorists who could return to Europe and other areas to carry out attacks similar to those that struck Paris last week – has been reduced. For two months the Russian ruler sought to persuade Arab and Western nations to join what he described as an alliance against the Islamic State, even as a Russian offensive in Syria targeted Western-backed Syrian rebel forces.

The day before the killings in Paris, Mr Obama said in a television interview with ABC’s This Week that Islamic State had been “contained” geographically since the campaign began.

Given the great difference in, among other things, the approach to civilian casualties, “I wouldn’t cooperate with Russian Federation militarily”, says retired Col. Peter Mansoor, professor of military history at Ohio State University in Columbus.

Speaking to reporters, he said Mr Obama would have a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, ahead of the weekend East Asia summit.