Obama: Russian Federation and Iran Must Make ‘Fundamental Shift’ in Combatting ISIS

“They keep talking about being part of a solution”. They joined Russian war planes based at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s province of Latakia.

“The Islamic State is trying to achieve its goals of creating the so-called caliphate without any relation to what is taking place in Syria and without any relation to who and how treats Bashar Assad”, the Russian foreign minister said.

On Tuesday, France became the first country to invoke the European Union’s mutual-defense clause, in force since 2009, which says that if a country “is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other member states shall have toward it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power”. The question, he said, is how to let go of Assad while safeguarding state institutions and the capital, Damascus.

During the brief conversation with reporters at Capitol Hill, America’s top diplomat also took issue with anti-refugee sentiments expressed by USA lawmakers and governors.

For Putin, the terror attacks in Paris marked a watershed moment in relations with the West. At a summit this week in Turkey, Putin huddled amicably with Obama and other Western leaders, whose changing attitudes reflected the political reality that the USA and its allies need Russia’s help to confront an extremist threat now striking at the heart of Europe. “I remain sceptical that our interests converge here”. The country also has suffered increasing casualties from the war.

Russia, which views Syria as its closest Middle East ally, has always been at odds with the West over Assad’s future with Moscow saying only the Syrian people should decide if he steps down.

“While the self-declared Islamic State … has grabbed headlines with its exhibitionist violence, the Syrian government has systematically violated every global law aimed at protecting civilians”, the group wrote.

“The French explicitly said that they will be fighting the IS at home and overseas, and that is a sign that could be translated in more military pressure against IS soon”, Danura told Xinhua.

“Syria has been a Pyrrhic victory for Iran”, he said.

The wheels are in motion for a process that could possibly usher Assad out.

Russian Federation has given the United States advance notice before it conducts air strikes in Syria at least three times since last week’s attacks in Paris, a US official said on Friday. He was equally vague about the timetable for such an election, noting that opposition and Western demands for an 18-month transition were not viable.

The president spoke after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the APEC summit. Obama has called for Assad to leave the presidency and be replaced in an election. In an interview shown Wednesday night on Italian state television, the Syrian president said that no political process can begin while “terrorists” occupy his nation.

“We are going to wait and see whether Russian Federation does end up paying more attention to ISIL targets”.