Russia Seeks Coalition on Islamic State While It Backs Assad
Iraqi soldiers take part in a training exercise at Basmaya camp in Baghdad, on May 27, 2015.
Photographer: Ali Al-Saasi/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Russia is pushing for a broad coalition to fight Islamic State, including Iraqi and Syrian government forces, rejecting continuing pressure from the U.S. and its allies for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said air strikes conducted by a U.S.-led coalition aren’t sufficient to defeat the Sunni Muslim extremist group, which controls swathes of Syria and Iraq. An “anti-terrorist front” with Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish ground forces is needed, Lavrov said Monday after meeting his U.S. and Saudi counterparts in Doha, Qatar.