Former French PM Calls on Countrymen to Fight Terrorism Alongside Moscow

Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has urged Paris to cooperate with Russia, Iran and the Syrian authorities in order to defeat Islamic State militants, RIA Novosti reported.

"For months I have said it is necessary to cooperate with Russia, Iran and Bashar Assad's regime to combat the Islamic State. We have lost plenty of time," Fillon said.

Earlier, he expressed regret about the fact that France has no military strategy to fight Islamic State militants. He stressed that France's main mistake was its reluctance to clinch an alliance with Russia.

The Islamic State currently remains a major threat to global security.

In the past three years, the terrorists have managed to capture large areas of land in Iraq and Syria. In addition, they are attempting to spread their clout to the countries of North Africa, especially Libya and have made inroads as far afield as Nigeria through their association with Boko Haram.

According to various estimates, ISIL's self-proclaimed caliphate currently spreads across 90,000 square kilometers, making the size of the terrorist-controlled territory slightly bigger than the Republic of Ireland.

Some claim that there are around 50,000 Islamic State militants, while others put the figure at a whopping 200,000.