French FM Fabius Emphasizes Ground Forces Needed in Fight Against ISIL

PARIS (Sputnik) – Ground forces are needed along with airstrikes in order to effectively fight the radical Islamic State, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Friday.

“We don’t want to send our forces, this would be counterproductive. This task could be handled by the Free Syrian Army, the Kurds, and even troops from the Syrian regime,” Fabius said on France’s RTL radio station.

On Thursday, French President Francoise Hollande met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and agreed they would fight together against common threats and called on their partners to increase coordination in countering the Islamic State in Syria.

A US-led international coalition, including France, has been conducting airstrikes against ISIL in Syria and Iraq since 2014 without the approval of the UN Security Council or the Syrian government. Russia launched its own air campaign against the extremists in Syria on September 30 at the request of Damascus.

The Syrian army and local militias are fighting ISIL in Syria on the ground.

Last week, Hollande called for united anti-terrorist efforts thorough a broad coalition, including the United States and Russia, after ISIL claimed responsibility for November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.