Syria conflict: Russia considers joining anti-IS air strikes

Russia is considering whether to follow the US and its allies in conducting air strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets, President Vladimir Putin says.

Mr Putin spoke after meeting Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

But the meeting, and the leaders’ speeches at the UNGA, also highlighted splits about how to end the Syrian war.
Russia said it would be an “enormous mistake” not to work with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to tackle IS.

On Monday, the US and France again insisted that President Assad must go. But in response, Mr Putin said: “They aren’t citizens of Syria and so should not be involved in choosing the leadership of another country.”

Russia would conduct air strikes only if they were approved by the United Nations, he said, while also ruling out Russian troops taking part in a ground operation in Syria.