Putin Says Fighting Islamic State in Syria Is Top Priority
- Impossible to curb Islamist group without Syrian army: Putin
- Russia says it backs Syrian government in fighting terrorism
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Dushanbe. Photographer: Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said the fight against Islamic State should be the global community’s top priority in Syria, rather than changing the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
A broad coalition is needed to combat the threat posed by the terrorist group, which wants to spread its activities across Europe and Russia, Putin said on Tuesday at a security summit of ex-Soviet countries in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. It’s impossible to curb Islamic State without the Syrian army and Russia is backing President Assad’s government in fighting terrorism, including by providing military aid, he said.