International Link

French and Russian presidents meet amid tensions over Syria air strikes

The meeting in Paris was called to discuss peace efforts in Ukraine, but these are expected to be overshadowed by the crisis in Syria.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

The French and Russian presidents are set for talks on Friday amid fears Russia is carrying out "indiscriminate" air strikes on Syrian militants, reports the BBC.

The French military, like the US, is targeting Islamic State (IS) fighters with air strikes. But the US says Russia is carrying out random strikes against the Syrian opposition.

Russia says it is targeting the same groups as the US-led coalition.

France said it was crucial that Russia was true to its word.

The Syrian opposition and others have suggested rebel factions opposed to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad - the Kremlin's ally - are bearing the brunt of the Russian attacks.

French president François Hollande, using an Arabic acronym for IS, said it was important that "the strikes, regardless of who is carrying them out, target Daesh and not other groups".

Mr Hollande will meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Paris on Friday. The meeting was called to discuss peace efforts in Ukraine, but these are expected to be overshadowed by the crisis in Syria.

Read more of this report from the BBC.