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‘Avoiding confrontations’: French, Russian defense ministers agree on anti-ISIS coordination
Russian
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and French Defence Minister Le
Drian. © Reuters
France
and Russia will coordinate the actions of its forces, fighting
Islamic State militants in Syria, in order to avoid any
confrontations, French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said
after talks with Russian counterpart, Sergey Shoigu, in Moscow.
Le
Drian told the journalists that he and Shoigu discussed an
issue “that
was talked through earlier – the coordination between our
militaries in order to avoid confrontations [in Syria].”
The
two ministers agreed to hold similar bilateral meetings “on
a regularly basis,” he dded.
The
French minister assured that there’s no strife between the US-led
coalition, of which France is a member, and the Russian forces in
Syria.
"There
are no conflicts between us,” he
stressed, reminding of the Russia-US deconfliction memorandum and
mechanisms implemented after the arrival of French aircraft carrier,
the Charles de Gaulle, off the Syrian coast.
"In
Syria, we [France] are making some progress, we hit Islamic State
(IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) regularly – by ourselves or with the US
assistance. Russia is also fighting IS, so we’re moving
forward," Le
Drian said. He stressed that Paris isn’t trying to become a
mediator between Moscow and Washington in creating a joint
anti-IS coalition in Syria.
The
French minister also said that no military and technical cooperation
deals were discussed between the sides after France failed to fulfill
the contract to supply Russia with two Mistral helicopter carriers
earlier this year.
Le
Drian said that the atmosphere at the meeting was “very
friendly” and
that he had a “very
positive feeling” after
talking to Shoigu.
The
Russian Defense Ministry later released a statement saying that the
ministers “acknowledged
the presence of a common enemy in the face of Islamic State and
confirmed their readiness to counter it together.”
“Sergey
Shoigu stressed that only by joining the efforts of all the concerned
nations, one can eliminate the terrorist threat to the people of
Paris, Moscow, London and other European cities,” it
said.
According
to the Defense Ministry, Shoigu and Le Drian also discussed the
situation in Libya.
The
Russian and French ministers “noted
the similarity in views on the situation in the country and expressed
concern about the intensification of Islamic State in the North
African region,” the
statement said.
The
French military has been carrying out anti-IS strikes as part of the
US-led coalition.
After
130 people were killed in Islamic State terrorist attacks in Paris on
November 13, France deployed its aircraft carrier, the Charles de
Gaulle, off Syria's coast, complete with 26 bomber jets on board and
intensified its airstrikes against IS.
President
Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to work together with
the French forces and treat them like allies.
Moscow
has been bombing the terrorists since September 30, with Russian
warplanes performing dozens of sorties every day at the request of
Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Ahead
of his visit to Moscow on Monday, the French defense minister told
journalists Paris would ask Russia to increase its action against
Islamic State, and would offer intelligence sharing and plans for a
joint vision on combating terrorist groups in Syria.
French
Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian heads for Moscow this Monday in
pursuit of enhanced collaboration between France and Russia to combat
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) on Syrian soil. His main goal
is to ask Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to increase strikes
against IS, according to AFP.
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