Photograph: Mikhail Klimentyev/AP
In the latest development in global news, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a regional “co-ordinating structure” against Islamic State (IS).
Putin reiterated his support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who Western countries and the Syrian opposition have said must go. The crisis is expected to be high on the agenda as world leaders gather at the UN in New York. Putin is supposed to hold ‘rare talks’ with US President Barack Obama to discuss the issue later on Monday.
Relations between Russia and the West have been strained over Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula last year and support for separatist rebels.
In a separate development, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to soften his stance against Mr Assad in a speech this week.
He is due to tell the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly that Assad could remain temporarily in power at the head of a transitional government.
Mr Cameron – along with Mr Obama and French President Francois Hollande – has previously demanded that Mr Assad be removed from power as a condition of any peace deal, a position consistently rejected by Mr Putin.
Speaking as he arrived in New York on Sunday, Mr Cameron said: “[Bashar al-] Assad can’t be part of Syria’s future. He has butchered his own people. He has helped create this conflict and this migration crisis. He is one of the great recruiting sergeants for Isil [IS].”
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani – a key regional ally of President Assad – said the government in Damascus “can’t be weakened” if IS militants were to be defeated. He was speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
European leaders are intensifying calls for a diplomatic push in Syria in the wake of a massive influx of refugees heading for Europe.
Source: BBC
Tags: IS ISIS Russia Vladimir Putin
