Per BBC, President Obama shook hands with Russian
President Vladimir Putin today at the Group of Twenty, or G20, global economic
summit meeting and the two not so compatible leaders have been talking in the
wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. According to European Council President
Donald Tusk, while speaking at the meeting, Russia’s cooperation with the U.S.
is ‘crucial’ to stopping IS in Syria. He urged that Russian military operations,
particularly those forces on the ground, concentrate on opposing the militants
of IS rather than ‘moderate’ Syrians. He further asserted that Russia’s air
strikes are aggravating the Syrian refugee situation, causing a “new wave of
refugees.” In light of the Paris
killings, Obama has pledged to ‘redouble’ his efforts in ending the civil clash
in Syria. Both he and U.S. ally leaders believe Syrian President Bashar
Al-Assad should “stand down” to resolve the political unrest, while Putin is
thought to be supportive of keeping his known ally Assad in power.
It will be interesting to see what agreement Obama
and Putin will make under the push of the European Council President. One would
hope that Putin would see a benefit to halting IS regardless of his
relationship with Assad. Perhaps the recent tragedies of the Russian plane
crash victims and the Paris terrorist victims will soften Putin on the idea of
working with the U.S. and its allies. Also, if an end can be brought to Syria’s
civil war through the stepping down of Assad, will that facilitate an end to
IS?
Amanda Zgonina
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