“We must annihilate Islamic State worldwide . . . and we must destroy Islamic State on its own territory,” French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
“That is the only possible direction. Any country who wants to participate militarily is welcome.”
Obama, who has said he will not commit additional US troops to a ground offensive, nevertheless said Sunday that the US “will not relent” in its ongoing battle with ISIS, including airstrikes against the terror group in Syria and Iraq.
“We will not accept the idea that terrorist assaults on restaurants and theaters and hotels are the new normal, or that we are powerless to stop them,” he said in Malaysia.
Obama, who last year sparked controversy by referring to ISIS as a junior varsity terror team, dismissed the group as “a bunch of killers with good social media.”
He urged Putin, who supports the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, to join the US-led coalition against ISIS, noting last month’s suspected bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt that killed all 224 on board.
“He needs to go after the people who killed Russian citizens,” Obama said.
Russia has been bombing targets in Syria, and Putin has called for the creation of a coalition that would fight ISIS while also backing Assad.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, a key US ally in the region, is set to meet with Putin in Moscow on Monday to raise concerns that stepped-up Russian raids could trigger another surge of Syrian refugees into Jordan.
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