We could work with Syrian regime troops in ground fight against Isil

Ground troops are needed to fight ISIL in Syria, which can include forces from the Syrian regime, said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Friday.

The Guardian quoted a second French official who stressed that Fabius’s comments did not imply coordination with the Assad regime. However, they said he has indicated in the past that Syrian government troops could be used to fight Islamic State once a national unity government was in place.

Fabius has previously accused the Syrian leader of “butchering” his own people and has repeatedly said that “Assad and the terrorists are the different side of the same coin”.

Speaking in Moscow at a news conference with the Syrian foreign minister on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said peace talks for Syria can not go ahead until all parties agree on a list of which groups should be listed as terrorists and which as the legitimate opposition.

On Thursday, Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed after talks in Moscow to exchange information on IS and other rebel groups in a bid to improve their targeting of IS in Syria.

France has been staunchly opposed to the continued rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and prosecutors in Paris have opened a criminal inquiry into torture and human rights abuses under his regime.

Daesh is another name for Islamic State, which controls swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. Islamic State has said it was behind both attacks.

Some of the oil is headed toward Turkey, Fabius said, following earlier accusation by Putin that IS has been selling its oil to Turkish buyers. “I think on that we are progressing”.