Troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad could be used to fight Islamic State, but only in the framework of a political transition without the Syrian president, France\u2019s foreign minister has said.<\/p>\n
The remarks by Laurent Fabius underscore the deep faultline between the west and Russia as Fran\u00e7ois Hollande, the French president, seeks to forge a common front against Isis after the atrocities in Paris that killed 130 people.<\/p>\n
\u201cTroops on the ground cannot be ours, but [there can be] Syrian soldiers from the Free Syrian Army, Sunni Arab states, and why not regime troops,\u201d Fabius told RTL radio without specifying whether he meant immediately or in the long term.<\/p>\n
Clarifying Fabius\u2019s comments, an official said the minister was reiterating France\u2019s longstanding position that there could be no cooperation with Syrian government forces to battle Isis until a unity government was in place. \u201cIt could only happen in the framework of a political transition and Fabius stresses that this transition is urgent and indispensable,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, France and Russia agreed to exchange intelligence on Isis and other rebel groups to improve the effectiveness of their bombing campaigns in Syria, after talks between Hollande and Vladimir Putin in Moscow.<\/p>\n
However, the French and Russian leaders remained at odds over the fate of Assad. Russia continues to back the Syrian leader, but the west and Sunni Arab countries blame him for the nearly five-year civil war and want him removed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we agreed, and this is important, is to strike only terrorists and Daesh and to not strike forces that are fighting terrorism,\u201d Hollande said at a joint news conference with Putin on Thursday. \u201cWe will exchange information about whom to hit and whom not to hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said France would increase its support to rebel groups battling Isis on the ground in Syria.<\/p>\n
The story of a radicalisation: ‘I was not thinking my thoughts. I was not myself’
\n Read more
\nPutin said Moscow was ready to unite with Paris against a \u201cmutual enemy\u201d, but he reaffirmed Moscow\u2019s longstanding view that Assad and the Syrian government were also allies in the fight against terrorism. Isis claimed responsibility for the downing of a Russian plane over the Sinai peninsula in Egypt on 31 October, which killed all 224 people on board.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that the fate of the president of Syria must stay in the hands of the Syrian people,\u201d Putin said. Hollande said Assad \u201cdoes not have his place in Syria\u2019s future\u201d.<\/p>\n
Putin and Hollande stressed the need to increase airstrikes against vehicles transporting oil across Isis-controlled territory to hit a key source of financing for the militant group.<\/p>\n
Putin also used the news conference to repeat his accusations against Turkey of turning a blind eye to oil smuggling by Isis. He said it was \u201ctheoretically possible\u201d that Ankara was unaware of oil supplies entering its territory from Isis-controlled areas of Syria, but added that this was hard to imagine.<\/p>\n
Relations between Russia and Turkey, a Nato member, have deteriorated sharply since Turkish forces downed a Russian warplane on Tuesday, and Moscow has warned of \u201cserious consequences\u201d for economic ties.<\/p>\n
Putin said that under the cooperation already established with the US-led coalition, Russia\u2019s military had passed on details of the flight plan of the downed jet. \u201cWhy did we pass this information to the Americans? Either they were not controlling what their allies were doing, or they are leaking this information all over the place,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n
Why did it take Turkey just 17 seconds to shoot down Russian jet?
\nMark Galeotti
\n Read more
\nOn Wednesday Russia\u2019s prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, alleged that Turkish officials were benefiting from Isis oil sales. The foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said it was no secret that \u201cterrorists\u201d used Turkish territory.<\/p>\n
On Thursday the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, rejected the accusations. \u201cShame on you. It\u2019s clear where Turkey buys its oil and gas,\u201d he said. \u201cThose who claim we are buying oil from [Isis] like this must prove their claims. Nobody can slander this country.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are seeking the source of weaponry and financial power of [Isis], the first place to look is the Assad regime and countries that act with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hollande said the downing of the Russian jet highlighted the need for countries to coordinate their military activities more closely to avoid a possible repeat of what he called a \u201cregrettable incident\u201c. He again called for a \u201cde-escalation\u201d of the tensions between Moscow and Ankara.<\/p>\n
On Friday France will mourn the victims of the Paris attacks, with Hollande leading a solemn ceremony in the capital.<\/p>\n