PHOTO: French President Francois Hollande and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday

LATEST

FRIDAY FEATURES

Iran Propaganda Feature: Legendary General Soleimani is Alive — and He Rescued Russia’s Pilot in Syria
Turkey Feature: Ankara Arrests 2 Journalists over “Arms to Syria” Story
Kurds Clash With Rebels in North

France and Russia have agreed to coordinate airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State, following a visit to Moscow by French President Francois Hollande on Thursday.

“The strikes against Daesh [the Islamic State] will be intensified and be the object of coordination,” Hollande said at a press conference with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin following their meeting. He said the strikes would focus on the transportation of oil.

Putin assured Hollande that Moscow could avoid bombing “healthy” opposition groups, even though more than 80% of Russia’s attacks since it began bombing on September 30 have been on opposition-held areas.

“We today agreed to intensify our joint work on the anti-terrorist track, to improve the exchange of information in the fight with terrorism, establish constructive work between our military specialists,” Putin said. “We have agreed… that we will exchange information about which territories are occupied by the healthy part of the opposition rather than terrorists, and will avoid targeting them with our airstrikes.”

Despite the convergence over the Islamic State, Hollande pointed to a continued division between France and Russia, saying that President Assad “has no place in the future of Syria”.

Russia has continued to maintain that Assad cannot be forced from office, and has proposed early Presidential and Parliamentary elections in which the President and his inner circle might be able to stand.

Two weeks ago, the second round of an international conference in Vienna, convened after Russian political and military moves, made no reference to Assad’s future in its proposal for an 18-month transition.

Putin also spoke of Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane on Turkey, “It could not even occur to us that we could receive a strike from a country, which we used to consider our ally.”

He continued, “Had it ever occurred to us that it’s possible, Russia would have deployed its S-400 class anti-aircraft systems in Syria long ago and would have used other means to protect its aircraft — fighter escort, thermal guard, etc.”

The President indicated that the US had effectively helped the Turks down the Russian Su-24 strike aircraft by passing on details of Moscow’s operations:

What did we give this information to the Americans for?. We proceed from the assumption that it will never happen again. Otherwise we don’t need any such cooperation with any country.

Lavrov: Turkey “Crossed Line”; Erdogan: Russia “Playing With Fire”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday about the downing of a Russian warplane, “We believe that the Turkish leadership has crossed the line of what is acceptable.”

Speaking at the start of talks with Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem, Lavrov warned that the incident “risks putting Turkey in a most severe situation, with respect to both its long-term national interests and the situation in the region”.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Russia “not to play with fire”. He then applied the caution to the Syrian situation:

Supporting the [Bashar] al-Assad regime in Syria, which has killed 380,000 people, is playing with fire. Striking opposition groups that have international legitimacy with the excuse of fighting against Daesh [an acronym the Islamic State] is playing with fire. Using an incident in which Turkey’s righteousness is accepted by the whole world as an excuse to torment our citizens who were in Russia to attend a fair is playing with fire. Irresponsibly hitting trucks in the region that are there for trade or humanitarian reasons is playing with fire. We sincerely advise Russia not to play with fire.

However, Erdoğan also offered concilation, saying he was willing to meet Putin during an upcoming climate change summit in Paris to find common ground: “We are uncomfortable with efforts to take the dispute over the downed jet into other areas of relations. Let’s not allow that to happen.”

Russia Displays S-400 Anti-Aircraft Missile Systems

Russia’s Defense Ministry puts out video of the arrival of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems at its airbase in Latakia Province in western Syria:

Moscow has played up the deployment of the S-400s following Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane on Tuesday near the Turkish-Syrian border.

Erdoğan: Turkey Has Not Bought Oil from ISIS

Responding to Russian allegations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has denied that Ankara bought oil from the Islamic State.

“Shame on you — those who claim we buy oil from Daesh [Islamic State] are obliged to prove it. If not, you are a slanderer,” Erdogan told officials on Thursday.

Russia has stepped up its claims of Turkey supporting ISIS oil trade following the downing of one of its warplanes by Turkish jets on the Turkish-Syrian border on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that there was “no doubt” that oil from “terrorist-controlled” territory crossing the border into Turkey.

The Islamic State, which controls almost all of Syria’s oilfields, is selling or trading oil to all sides in the Syrian conflict, including the Assad regime and rebels.

See Syria Feature: A Guide to Islamic State’s Oil Production

Video: Rebels Reclaim Mountain From Regime in Northern Latakia Province

Rebels recaptured the Zahia mountain in northern Latakia Province on Thursday:

Footage from the battle:

Regime forces held the mountain for less than 24 hours before it was reclaimed by rebel forces, including the Free Syrian Army’s 10th Brigades.

The Syrian military, supported by intensive Russian airstrikes, has been trying to advance in the area near the Turkish border.