US, France to ‘scale up’ air strikes in Syria, Iraq

Mr Hollande said that the two sides would “scale up” strikes in Syria and Iraq and “strengthen intelligence-sharing regarding the targets”.

Following his meeting with the French president, Obama said Russian cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State would be “enormously helpful”.

However, Hollande joined Obama in refusing to intervene militarily on the ground in Iraq and Syria, saying that is a role for local forces.

President Hollande said he will reaffirm that point when he meets with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

In advance of Hollande’s meeting with Putin, France sought to dismiss concerns that it might soften its stance on worldwide sanctions against Russian Federation over Ukraine in exchange for Russia’s cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State.

Earnest said the USA would “continue the conversation” with Putin but suggested Obama would make no promises to Hollande during Tuesday’s visit.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for deadly attacks against both of the countries’ citizens in recent weeks: November 13 shootings and suicide bombings in Paris which killed 130 people, and the October 31 bombing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula that claimed 224 lives.

President Hollande has called for the formation of a broad, single coalition to combat Islamic State. Almost five years of clashes between Assad’s government and rebel forces have created a vacuum that has allowed the Islamic State to thrive. “We will not hand a publicity coup to ISIL”, he said, using another name for the extremist group. “We proceed from the assumption that it will never happen again”, he said.

France has launched a major security crackdown since the attacks with police searching more than 1,200 premises, arresting 165 people and seizing 230 weapons – including what the interior minister called “weapons of war”.

On Thursday, the Associated Press reported, Hollande said he and Putin “agreed on a very important issue: To strike the terrorists only, Daesh [the Islamic State’s Arab acronym] and the jihadi groups only, and not to strike the forces and the groups that are fighting against the terrorists”.

In an interview with RTL radio, Fabius said that destroying Daesh is an objective that all countries agree upon, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym. Syria, it cannot be that he (Assad) who is at the origin of 300,000 deaths and millions of refugees can lead (Syria)…

The attacks in the heart of Europe sparked fears of terrorism in the US, as well as an outpouring of solidarity with the French.

Hope of a resolution between the two parties had increased after the Paris attacks as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation seemed to be backing down on its demand that Assad be removed from power.

If there ever was a time to place American troops on the ground this is it. Hillary Clinton is correct when she says, “ISIS can not be contained”.

Obama said: “Turkey, like every country, has a right to defend its territory and its air space”, adding he expected to speak to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in coming days.