Putin orders troops to coordinate with France

By Park Sae-jin Posted : November 18, 2015, 09:07 Updated : November 18, 2015, 09:07

[Courtesy of Vladimir Putin's official website]



Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, ordered Russian forces to coordinate with the French military as “allies” on joint action plans in Syria, Tuesday.

After attacks in Paris, which left 130 people killed and over 300 wounded, France had appealed to Washington and Moscow to join in a grand coalition to fight IS. Russia had a good reason to join the coalition since a Russian commercial airplane crashed in Egypt killing everyone on board. For all of the atrocities, the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS or ISIL), claimed the responsibility.

The order which came from Putin was made just hours after Russian intelligence service confirmed that the Russian Airbus was brought down by a bomb. In response, the Russian bombers have attacked the IS’ stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, Tuesday.

France also launched a bombing attack in Raqqa on Sunday, two days after the Paris attacks, sending ten fighter jets dropping 20 bombs destroying IS training center, a munitions depot and other facilities.

It is also known that Russia notified the U.S forces, which is uncommon, before bombing Raqqa. According to a Reuters report, U.S defense official said, "The Russians did provide us notice prior to conducting these strikes, via the Coalition Combined Air Operations Center in Qatar,"

Russia joining the coalition could bring dramatic effects in hunting down IS, since Russia had been running anti-terrorist programs against IS in recent months, resulting over 1,600 targets destroyed.

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