French president visits Russia to seek support for anti-IS coalition
Francois Hollande has so far secured strong support from Britain and Germany, but US President Barack Obama is reportedly hesitant to intensify military action in Syria without a clearer strategy.
French President Francois Hollande will be in Moscow later on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to form a coalition against Islamic State militants. Hollande had met Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi earlier in the day before leaving for Russia. After the IS attacks in Paris on November 13, in which 130 people were killed, Hollande has sought support from various countries to form a broad coalition to fight IS terrorists.
After the attacks, France also invoked a never-before-used clause of the European Union treaty requiring member countries to provide military assistance. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged support to France, while in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister David Cameron has also expressed “firm support” for Hollande. Cameron on Thursday released a statement in the British House of Commons urging the members of Parliament to support the airstrikes against IS in Syria, adding that all seven terror plots in the UK this year have been undertaken by the militant group.
AFP reported that the Italian Prime Minister only said that his country would support “a coalition of greater and greater strength that is up to the task” of defeating IS. United States President Barack Obama is also reportedly hesitant to intensify military action in Syria without a clearer strategy. Hollande’s efforts at a united anti-IS coalition has also suffered a blow after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on Tuesday after it violated Turkish airspace, an allegation that Russia has denied.