LONDON (Sputnik) — British Prime Minister David Cameron called on Russia on Sunday to join the United States and the United Kingdom's efforts in fighting the Islamic State.
"[C]hange direction, join us in attacking ISIL but recognise that if we want to have a secure region, we need an alternative leader to [Syrian President Bashar] Assad," the prime minister appealed to Russia in an interview with BBC Television.
On Wednesday, the Russian upper house of parliament unanimously supported President Vladimir Putin's request to deploy the Russian Air Force abroad. The same day, Russia launched its first airstrikes on ISIL positions in Syria at Assad's request.
Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad confirmed that Syrian Army strikes, supported by the Russian Air Force, were carried out against armed terrorist organizations and not political opposition factions or civilians.
Since 2014, a US-led coalition has been bombing ISIL terrorist positions in Syria without the approval of the UN Security Council or Syrian authorities.