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France and Russia Focus on the Islamic State

Nov 18, 2015 | 01:41 GMT

(Stratfor)

Though the common cause of fighting the Islamic State does raise the prospect of tighter cooperation between Russia and the West (particularly France) in Syria, there are still very real limits to that cooperation. Russia is ramping up its campaign against the Islamic State, but overall it is likely to remain focused on fighting non-Islamic State rebels. After all, Russia is trying to maintain its strategic position in Syria, and in its view, to fully address the Islamic State threat the country first needs a viable government. So long as these rebels continue to pose a critical threat to the Syrian government, Russia will undoubtedly remain actively involved in sustaining its loyalist allies on the ground against rebel advances....

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