Russia’s Lavrov says U.S. must work with Assad to fight Islamic State

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States should cooperate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to fight Islamic State and that this required an international coalition uniting all those for whom the jihadists are “a common enemy”. Washington currently heads a coalition conducting air strikes on Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and is […]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States should cooperate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to fight Islamic State and that this required an international coalition uniting all those for whom the jihadists are “a common enemy”.
Washington currently heads a coalition conducting air strikes on Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and is cooperating with Turkey to provide air cover for rebels inside Syria.
But Moscow has criticised the United States for not working in sync with Syria, an ally of Russia.
In comments to Russia’s state TV published by his ministry on Sunday, Lavrov recounted two meetings with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry amid the recent intensified high-level diplomatic contacts over Syria and fighting the Sunni jihadis.
“Our American partners and some countries in the region persistently refuse to recognise Assad as a partner, which is rather strange,” Lavrov said.
“Assad was a fully legitimate partner in destroying chemical arms but somehow he is not in fighting terrorism,” the foreign minister said, referring to a chemical disarmament deal brokered by Moscow and Washington earlier in the conflict.