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[h=4]Putin willing to work with coalition fighting Islamic State[/h]Putin and Hollande said they agreed to increase the exchange of intelligence on the Islamic State.
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French President Francois Hollande met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for a stronger coalition against the Islamic State group after the November 13 attacks in Paris. (Nov. 26) AP
French President Francois Hollande, left, speaks during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after their meeting in Moscow on Nov. 26.(Photo: AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin told French President Francois Hollande on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Thursday that he is willing to work more closely with the U.S.-led coalition that is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>battling the Islamic State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Syria.
"Our positions are the same," Putin said. "We are prepared to work with you."
The diplomatic development came as Hollande traveled to Moscow as part of a week-long effort to bolster support for the fight against the militant<span style="color: Red;">*</span>group responsible for the Paris attacks that killed 130 people on Nov. 13. On Tuesday, the French president met with President Obama in Washington where the two leaders discussed common<span style="color: Red;">*</span>security concerns.
Putin and Hollande said they agreed to increase the exchange of intelligence on the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, and to work to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>improve<span style="color: Red;">*</span>coordination over<span style="color: Red;">*</span>airstrikes against the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Islamist network<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that has inflicted serious attacks on Russia and France.
"What we agreed, and this is important, is to strike only terrorists and the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Islamic State) and to not strike forces fighting terrorism," Hollande said, speaking in a joint news conference with Putin. He said the two countries would coordinate more closely on identifying ISIL targets.
The French president's trip to Moscow had threatened to be overshadowed by the downing of a Russian jet this week by Turkey. That incident took place near the Syrian border<span style="color: Red;">*</span>where Russia and coalition forces are conducting airstrikes against ISIL.
Turkey is a NATO member that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>backs the West's assertion that peace in Syria can only be achieved if Syrian President Bashar Assad steps down, likely in a gradual political transition. Putin views Assad as a "natural ally"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in any military campaign against ISIL and has stated that it should be up to the Syrian people to decide who governs them.
A few hours before the talks in Moscow got underway<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said his country was planning on drawing up formal sanctions against<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Turkey because its jet was shot down under circumstances it does not accept. Russia denies Turkish claims that the plane violated its airspace.
The sanctions will include "restrictions and bans on Turkish economic structures operating in Russian territory, restrictions and bans on deliveries of products, including foodstuffs."<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russia is a major destination for Turkish exports and Turkey imports vast amounts of Russian gas.
Putin criticized Washington on Thursday, saying that as the leader of the anti-ISIL coalition it should have ensured that a Russian warplane was not targeted.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“We proceed from the assumption that it will never happen again,” he said. “Otherwise we don’t need any such cooperation with any country," he said.
In separate comments made at the Kremlin on Thursday, Putin said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that Russia had not received an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>apology from Turkey or any offers of compensation.
But<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a defiant tone.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“Faced with the same violation today, Turkey would give the same response,” he<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said. “It’s the country that carried out the violation which should question itself and take measures to prevent it from happening again, not the country that was subjected to a violation."
Earlier Thursday, British Prime Minister David Cameron told his country's parliament that launching airstrikes against ISIL would make Britain "safer."
USA TODAY
Cameron: Bombing ISIL will make Britain safer
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