US, Russia to coordinate and harden position on ISIS

WASHINGTON DC—Russian foreign minister and his US counterpart said Sunday that both countries will coordinate on fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) as Moscow confirmed that it will expand its efforts into Iraq.

“Well, we coordinate the efforts against ISIL,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a joint press conference with his US counterpart John Kerry.

The Russia-US coordination would include intelligence sharing against the extremist group in Syria and Iraq.

The Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement Sunday that Iraq has started sharing intelligence and information gathering with Russia, Iraq and Syria.

For his part, US Secretary of State Kerry said that coordination among all parties was crucial in moving forward in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

“I think the critical thing is that all of the efforts need to be coordinated,” said Kerry. “This is not yet coordinated. I think we have concerns about how we’re going to go forward, but that’s precisely what we’re meeting on to talk about now.”

Kerry hinted that Russia’s participation in the war on ISIS might contribute to brining the Syrian conflict to an end.

“This is the beginning of a genuine effort to see if there is a way to de-conflict, but also to find a way forward that will be effective in keeping a united secular Syria that can be at peace and stable again without foreign troops present, and that’s our hope,” he added.

US president Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are to meet on Monday on the sidelines of the UN annual meeting in New York.

Syria and Ukraine are expected to dominate the talks between the two leaders.