Russia Claims to be Bombing ISIS Ruthlessly; Obama Says US Still Doesn’t Know if Russians Are Onboard

The United States still doesn’t know whether Russia can “make the strategic adjustment” necessary for it to join the coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL), President Obama said on Sunday.

 

Speaking in Kuala Lumpur on the final day of a visit to South-East Asia, Obama said the focus of Russia’s air campaign in Syria has been “the moderate opposition” and its principal goal appears to have been “to fortify the position of the Assad regime.”

 

“It will be helpful if Russia directs its focus on ISIL, and I do think that as a consequence of ISIL claiming responsibility for bringing down their plane [over the Sinai on Oct. 31], there is an increasing awareness on the part of President Putin that ISIL poses a greater threat to them than anything else in the region,” Obama said.

 

“The question at this point is whether they can make the strategic adjustment that allows them to be effective partners with us and the other 65 countries who are already part of the counter-ISIL campaign,” he added. “And we don’t know that yet.”

 

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