Putin ready to work with France against the mutual enemy

 

French President Francois Hollande said Thursday after talks in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin that Russia and France would intensify the exchange of intelligence information and coordinate their strikes against the Islamic State group.

Addressing reporters,Hollande restated France’s view that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key ally of Russia, had no place in the country's future,But in a sign of convergence between Paris and Moscow, Hollande said the two leaders had agreed to strike “only terrorists” in Syria, namely the Isis group and similar jihadist organisations.

 "What we agreed, and this is important, is to strike only terrorists and Daesh and to not strike forces that are fighting terrorism. We will exchange information about whom to hit and whom not to hit," Hollande said, using a derogatory Arabic term to refer to the IS group.

The French president said the two leaders had also agreed to coordinate strikes on oil transportation targets on territory held by the jihadist group.
Putin, whose forces have been accused of targeting mainly moderate Syrian groups opposed to Assad, added that Russia was willing to cooperate with opposition groups fighting IS extremists.

Culled from the internet