France and Russian Federation agree to coordinate strikes against IS
“We have never forgotten how the French people stood with us after 9/11”, said Mr Obama, standing next to Mr Hollande in the White House’s East Room in remarks that were personal and emotional.
According to CNN Politics, the presidents are considering intensifying the attacks on ISIS in Syria and Iraq, especially after the Paris attacks, which seemed to have opened a new phase of the war on terror.
During Tuesday’s talks at the White House, the French leader is expected to press the American president to commit more assets in the fight against Islamic State, as Hollande enlists global support for a coordinated attack on the militants.
In a call, Obama and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan “agreed on the importance of de-escalating the situation and pursuing arrangements to ensure that such incidents do not happen again”, the White House said.
Clearly, Hollande has stiffened Obama’s resolve to destroy ISIS, not just contain it, with the two leaders agreeing that destroying ISIS is more urgent than ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The U.S. president hoped that Russian Federation will undertake a “strategic shift” that would focus it fully on the fight against the jihadists, because having its cooperation “would be enormously helpful in bringing about a resolution of the civil war in Syria, and allow us all to refocus our attention on ISIL”.
On Monday, Mr Hollande met British Prime Minister David Cameron – who has pledged to press the British Parliament to approve military action in Syria – and on Thursday will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
One foreign policy analyst says the USA could be doing more militarily to head off Russian Federation and assert its own strategy in Syria.
Putin has deployed missile cruisers in Syria, dismissing military communications with Ankara and instructing men to destroy potential threat without warning in response to Turkey shooting down a Russian fighter jet in the Syrian border.
Both Russia and Turkey are already engaged in air campaigns in Syria, though to different ends; and both would be vital to any effort at creating a more robust coalition against IS.
Hollande’s diplomatic efforts also suffered a blow after Turkey shot down a Russian jet, sparking a diplomatic incident between the rival powers fighting in Syria that has threatened to escalate into a wider conflict. “Russian Federation right now is a coalition of two – Iran and Russian Federation supporting Assad”.
“For our part, we are prepared to go further, to plan strikes against Daesh (Islamic State) positions together and to set up a joint command with France, America and any country that wants to join this coalition”, he said, noting that this included Turkey.
From Washington, Hollande will travel to Moscow for meetings with Putin.
USA politicians have been urging the United States to pause its Syrian refugee program until the administration can confirm that it’s airtight against possible terrorist infiltration.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pledged to stand beside France in its fight against the extremist group after talks with Hollande, vowing to act “swiftly” to see how Germany can help in the fight against terrorism.
Meanwhile, Hollande has stressed that he and Putin have agreed to carry out the attacks specifically against ISIS and terrorists. Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the Paris attacks would serve as “an extremely important wake-up call”, much like the hijackings of September 11, 2001.