French President Francois Hollande met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin Thursday to formally ask Russia to join France in the fight against the Islamic State group, who have attacked both countries in the past month.
"Our enemy is Daesh, the Islamic State, it has territory and an army and resources, so we must create this large coalition to hit these terrorists," Hollande said in a televised speech prior to his meeting with Putin, according to Reuters. "I'm in Moscow with you to see how we can act together and coordinate so that we can strike this terrorist group, but also reach a solution for peace."
Hollande has been on a diplomatic offensive to unite world powers against ISIS since the jihadists claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people and injured hundreds more. Hollande met with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi earlier on Thursday, ABC News reported.
Putin tied together the attacks in Paris with a bombing of a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai in late October, telling Hollande, "Our positions are the same. That forces us to join our forces in fighting terrorists. We are prepared to work with you Mr. President," according to The Washington Post.
Russia and France will now intensify the exchange of intelligence information and coordinate their strikes against Islamic State militants.
Hollande reportedly encouraged Putin to focus airstrikes on ISIS militants rather than U.S.-backed rebels, and also to show restraint with Turkey, who shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border this week. Russia has so far refused to distinguish between so-called moderate rebels and the Islamic State group and continues to conduct attacks against both groups, calling them all terrorists.
After speaking with Putin, Hollande emphasized that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must also step down from power and called for the formation of a transitional government that would create a new constitution and hold elections, a proposal that Russia takes issue with, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. and its allies have been arming extremists in Syria fighting to overthrow Assad for years. On the other hand, Putin is providing the Syrian leader with military and diplomatic shelter from the West and said Thursday after his talks with Hollande that Assad's fate should be decided democratically by the Syrian people.
