MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Iran and Russia should help Syrian president Bashar Assad counter the ISIL jihadist group, which is currently in control of vast territories in the country, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday.
Kurz, along with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, is currently on his visit to Tehran, which is due to finish on Wednesday.
The West shares Assad's view on ISIL and recognizes the importance of countering the threat, the minister was cited as saying by the German Welt newspaper. He added that a common, well-thought approach is required to efficiently fight against the terrorist group.
Iran and Russia should also be engaged in finding a solution to the ongoing Syrian conflict, Kurz stressed.
Syria has been engulfed in a civil war for more than four years. Apart from battling against so-called moderate opposition, Damascus has had to counter the advance of various militant groups, including the notorious ISIL and the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
Since the beginning of the Syria Civil War, the United States and some of its allies have supported the moderate Syrian opposition while calling for Assad's resignation, while Russia and Iran recognized Assad as the only legitimate Syrian authority.
