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Russia ready to work with France in fight against terrorism: Putin

Xinhua, November 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is ready to join France in the fight against terrorism, before meeting with his visiting French counterpart Francois Hollande who has been on a whirlwind diplomacy to canvass support for a broad international coalition against Islamic State(IS).

IS has claimed responsibility for the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives, and the downing of a Russian passenger plane on Oct. 31 that killed all 224 people aboard over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Speaking before a closed-door meeting with Hollande, Putin said the losses and suffering of France and Russia from terrorist attacks prompted the two countries to join forces and fight the "common evil" of terrorism.

"We believe this is absolutely necessary, and in this regard our positions are the same ... Russia has long been faced with severe attacks and serious losses. We understand feelings of you and the whole France," Putin said in a televised speech.

For his part, Hollande said he hoped his visit to Russia could lead to a broad coalition of the anti-terrorism campaign so as to fight terrorists in an more effective way.

"Terrorism is our common enemy. It has territories, an army and finances, so we must create a broad and strong coalition to strike them," Hollande said.

The meeting is currently underway with the presence of other senior officials from the two countries. According to a press notice by Kremlin, the two leaders would mainly discuss how to coordinate their anti-terrorist efforts. Meanwhile, political settlement in Syria and the Ukrainian crisis will also be touched upon.

Following the Nov. 13 carnage in Paris, Hollande held a series of meetings with major countries' leaders to seek support for building "a strong and global" coalition to counter the IS, which has controlled vast swaths of Syria and Iraq.

Vowing merciless war against terrorism, Hollande kicked off a week of intensive diplomacy with talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron before flying to Washington where he met President Barack Obama to discuss stepped-up strikes against IS.

On Wednesday, the French president also expressed determination "to fight together against terrorism" with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Endit