The French and Russian presidents are set for talks on Friday amid fears Russia is carrying out “indiscriminate” air strikes on Syrian militants.
The French military, like the US, is targeting Islamic State (IS) fighters with air strikes. But the US says Russia is carrying out random strikes against the Syrian opposition. Russia states that it is targeting the same groups as the US-led coalition. France said it was crucial that Russia was true to its word.
The Syrian opposition and others have suggested rebel factions opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – the Kremlin’s ally – are bearing the brunt of the Russian attacks.
French President Francois Hollande, using an Arabic acronym for IS, said it was important that “the strikes, regardless of who is carrying them out, target Daesh and not other groups”.
Mr Hollande will meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Paris on Friday. The meeting was called to discuss peace efforts in Ukraine, but these are expected to be overshadowed by the crisis in Syria.
Russia said it carried out its second day of air strikes on Thursday, hitting IS ammunition dumps and command centres.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at the UN in New York, said Russia would also fight other terrorist groups including the al-Nusra Front – an al-Qaeda affiliate.
Source: BBC
Tags: Russia Syrian
