French President Francois Hollande met his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, on Thursday, as France aims to bring Russia into the international coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
{mosads}“Our enemy is Daesh, Islamic State, it has territory, an army and resources, so we must create this large coalition to hit these terrorists,” Hollande said in televised remarks at the Kremlin, 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,” he added.
Putin said Moscow was ready to unite with France against a “mutual enemy.”
The West has been hesitant to work with Russia, which, in addition to opposing ISIS, has attacked moderate Syrian rebels opposed to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The talks between Hollande and Putin also come amid tension between Russia and NATO member Turkey, which shot down a Russian fighter plane that reportedly violated its airspace earlier this week.
Hollande has met with several world leaders this week, including British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, President Obama in Washington on Tuesday and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.
Russia and France have both suffered civilian casualties in recent attacks by ISIS.
ISIS assailants opened fire on civilians in Paris on Nov.13, killing at least 129 people. The terrorist group has also claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Russian passenger plane last month that killed more than 200 people.