“Russia and the United States have many common interests, including the fight against terrorism,” McFaul tweeted on Sunday.
Russia and the United States have many common interests, including the fight against terrorism.
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) 12 января 2015
Russia has been involved in counter-terrorism activities for a long time, but Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it is not interested in joining coalitions that are established without the consent of the UN Security Council.
The United States, which holds a different stance on the matter, is currently leading an anti-Islamic State coalition that has been conducting airstrikes without a UN mandate against jihadists operating in Syria and Iraq.
Relations between the United States and Russia have significantly deteriorated over the course of the Ukrainian crisis and a build-up of NATO forces along Russia's border. The United States and a number of other countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia, groundlessly accusing it of escalating the crisis.