By Elizabeth Pineau and Paul Taylor
The leaders of Russia and France avoided each other’s gaze as they made short, stiff statements in the Kremlin on Thursday before talks on countering Islamic State in Syria.
Francois Hollande wants to unite major powers in a single ‘grand coalition’ to fight the militants behind the Paris attacks but Vladimir Putin’s air force has mostly hit Western-backed rebels combating Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
By the end of the evening, Hollande appeared more relaxed and French officials were touting a potentially significant advance in cooperation with Moscow.
“It’s major because of the agreement not to strike groups that …read more
Source: Cyprus Mail
