France, UK Agree to Coordinate Fight Against ISIL in Syria

PARIS (Sputnik) — French President Francois Hollande and UK Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to coordinate the efforts of the two countries in the fight with ISIL jihadist group in Syria, the French president's office said in a statement on Monday.

"President of the Republic had a telephone conversation with UK Prime Minister David Cameron. They discussed Syria and the strengthening of actions being taken by France and the United Kingdom to coordinate their fight against the ISIL and work at the same time to achieve a political transition of power [in Syria]," the statement read.

It added that the leaders of France and the United Kingdom also exchanged views on the influx of migrants to the European Union. Hollande reiterated France's intention to accept 24,000 refugees over the next two years, and urged the bloc to develop a permanent and binding mechanism for equitable distribution of refugees among member countries. In turn, Cameron reiterated the commitment of London to take 20,000 refugees by 2020.

Syria has been engulfed in civil war since March 2011. Damascus has been engaged in battles on multiple fronts, against the so-called moderate opposition and numerous extremist insurgent groups, including the Islamic State militant group.

A number of Western countries have long been vocally supportive of what they call "moderate" rebel fighters, while Russia has repeatedly stated that Syrian President Bashar Assad is the legitimate president of Syria, and that the people of Syria must choose their government and leaders without outside intervention.

Over 250,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, according to UN estimates.