US President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande called on Russia to focus its attacks in Syria on Islamic State militants following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey’s air force.
Noting that the United States did not have enough information yet to form conclusions on the incident, the US president said future situations could be avoided if Russia stopped attacking “moderate” Syrian rebels battling the Assad regime.
Speaking after a meeting with the French President, Mr Obama said,
“This points to a ongoing problem with the Russian operations in the sense that they are operating very close to a Turkish border and they are going after moderate opposition that are supported not only by Turkey but a wide range of countries.
Calling on Russia to direct its energy towards Islamic State forces, he added “some of those conflicts and potential mistakes or escalation are less likely to occur.”
Earlier today, NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg offered support for Ankara and rejected that the incident happened outside of Turkey's borders, reports Reuters.
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