Russia seeks coalition against Islamic State while backing Assad
MOSCOW — Russia is pushing for a broad coalition to fight Islamic State, including Iraqi and Syrian government forces, and rejects 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 enough 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.
Lavrov criticized a U.S. decision to authorize the use of air strikes to defend American-trained Syrian rebels against Assad's forces as "counterproductive" because it sabotages efforts to combat Islamic State, according to a ministry transcript.
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"The danger now is that Islamic State may seize the whole of Syria," Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Moscow-based Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a research group which advises the Russian government, said by phone. "We need to find a way to forge a common front against Islamic State, but the main problem remains disagreement over Assad."
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