France’s foreign minister took a swipe at Russia on Tuesday (September 29) saying that it has talked a lot about striking Islamic State, but that if it wanted to prove its real intentions in Syria then it should stop “media strikes” and carry out real ones.
“Those who are against Daesh [Islamic State], are those who strike Daesh. There’s no question about it. It’s simple,” Laurent Fabius told reporters in New York at the French Mission to the United Nations. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
“The line for France is absolutely clear. It’s been several months that we have been fighting Daesh in actuality in Iraq. We we have decided several days ago, under conditions you understand — a threat against France by Daesh in Syria, to send reconnaissance planes and then the french president gave the order last Thursday to strike [in Syria]”, the minister explained.
“It’s not only those who in theory support the fight against Daesh, but those who are actually fighting Daesh. It’s a singular difference with those who speak a lot about the fight against Daesh, but for the moment, we haven’t seen a single plane of theirs in the fight. If they do it, bravo,” he finished in veiled reference to Russian military activity in Syria. (Reuters)