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France strikes IS targets as Syria diplomacy hits 'high gear'

24 November 2015 00:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. France launched air strikes Monday from its aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean as global efforts to combat the Islamic State group gathered pace and world leaders met for talks on the Syrian crisis, APA reports quoting AFP.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he would make his case to parliament on Thursday to join the coalition striking IS in Syria.

That followed a morning meeting with President Francois Hollande, during which Cameron praised France's decision to ramp up strikes against the jihadist group after the Paris attacks.

"It's my firm conviction that Britain should do so too," Cameron said.

France bombed IS targets in Iraq on Monday in the first sorties from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, newly deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.

"We carried out strikes in Ramadi and Mosul in support of ground forces that were pushing against troops of (the Islamic State group)," said army chief of staff General Pierre de Villiers, aboard the carrier.

A week of frantic international diplomacy was under way, with Hollande set to meet all five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the United States trying to rally support for a ceasefire in Syria.

Major differences remain over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Western powers want him removed from power, but he retains strong support from old allies Russia and Iran.

In his first visit to Iran for eight years, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday.

They emphasised their opposition to any "external attempts" to bring regime change in Syria, a Kremlin official said.

At the same time, US Secretary of State John Kerry was in Abu Dhabi hoping to forge a coalition of Syrian opposition groups for peace talks.

Kerry hopes his Emirati and Saudi allies can pressure rebel factions into accepting a ceasefire with Assad within "a few weeks" -- a step seen as crucial to refocusing the war on IS.

"You can be confident that the diplomatic front is in high gear, with a very real plan on the table to be implemented," Kerry said.