French President Francois Hollande is traveling to Moscow on Thursday, part of his weeklong push for a stronger coalition against ISIS extremists in Syria that should unite France, the United States and Russia in the aftermath of the Paris attacks that killed 130 people and jolted the West.
Hollande’s visit, which is expected later on Thursday, comes two days after he met with President Barack Obama in Washington where both leaders vowed to escalate airstrikes against the ISIS and bolster intelligence sharing.
Hollande’s difficult task became even more arduous after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border earlier this week. The incident underscored the complex military landscape in Syria, where a sprawling cast of countries and rebel groups are engaged on the battlefield and in the skies overhead, sometimes with minimal coordination.
The French president comes to Moscow with intent to make progress on three priority issues: to prevent Syrian President Bashar Assad from targeting civilians, to focus the airstrikes on ISIS extremists - not the moderate Syrian opposition - and to make progress toward a process of political transition in Syria.
France will also seek to “avoid an escalation” between Russia and Turkey, according to a French diplomatic official who spoke anonymously because of the sensitiveness of the issue.
