Russia Open to International Anti-IS Coalition Even with Turkey
Russia is open to an international anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition with the United States, France, and even Turkey, a Russian diplomat revealed on Wednesday.
In an interview with Europe 1 radio, Russian ambassador to France Alexander Orlov said Russia is willing to join an international anti-IS coalition that will strike the terror group even if Turkey is included in the alliance. The statement comes amid existing tension between Moscow and Ankara, which arose after the latter downed a Russian warplane, according to Xinhua.
"A coalition against Daesh (Arabic acronym for the Islamic States) is still possible to plan together strikes and form a common general staff with France, the United States and even with the Turkish if they want," Xinhua quotes Orlov's statement to Europe 1 radio.
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Orlov also said they plan to have another dialogue with Turkey. After all, the two countries are neighbors and they are dealing with an important issue, he added.
Just this Tuesday, Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 after thinking that the aircraft had crossed its air space. The warplane was flying over the Syrian border when the incident happened, the report explains.
Russia had accused Turkey of committing a "flagrant violation of international law." In response to the downing of the jet, Russian leader Vladimir Putin warned that grave consequences are coming, The Independent reports.
Based on Gazprom statistics, Turkey ranks second among the biggest consumers of gas products from Russia. It was earlier feared that Russia would strike back by hitching up its gas prices, but Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak confirmed that the energy ties between the two countries will not be affected by the downing of the plane.
There are other concerns over the effect of the downing of the Russian plane on the plan to form an international coalition against the IS. Some even speculated that it would spark a "World War III," but Orlov's recent statement conveyed the message that the anti-IS plan could proceed as planned without fears of a conflict erupting between Turkey and Russia.
