Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Russia Urges US to Act in Lockstep with Syria to Crush IS

Russia Urges US to Act in  Lockstep with Syria to Crush IS

MOSCOW - Russia on Tuesday urged a US-led coalition fighting against the Islamic State group to coordinate their air raids with the Syrian government, warning that jihadists could go "very far" if not stopped.

"It is absolutely clear to me it was a mistake -- still is -- not to coordinate the air strikes with the activities of the Syrian army. That's what we believe must be done," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Bloomberg Television in an interview.

"And that is what unfortunately our American colleagues cannot accept for ideological considerations."

Lavrov spoke as the Western coalition gathered for Paris crunch talks involving Iraq to discuss the advance of IS jihadists who have declared an Islamic caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq they now control.

Moscow's top diplomat whose country is among the main backers of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, warned that the IS militants could go "very far, very far" if not stopped.

"They already make a lot of progress in Iraq, in Syria. They just took the Idlib province," he said, noting that the militants were expanding into Libya.

"And even in northern Afghanistan which is very close to Cental Asia which is next door to Russia." (AFP)