Fight Against ISIL Must Be Main Priority for Int'l Community

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that all countries should make efforts to reach the goal of eradicating Islamic State.

PARIS (Sputnik) – The fight against the Islamic State (ISIL, or Daesh in the Arab world) extremist group must become a main priority for the international community, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday.

"We must make [fight against] the ISIL our main priority. And all states concerned about the ISIL – neighboring countries, such as Turkey, and those who were affected, like Russia – all should make efforts to reach the goal of eradicating Islamic State," Valls said in an interview with the Europe 1 radio.

The French diplomat commented on strained relations between Russia and Turkey in light of the downing of a Russian bomber, and urged the sides to settle the matter.

On November 24, a Russian Su-24 bomber while on a mission against ISIL was downed by an air-to-air missile fired from a Turkish F-16 fighter. Ankara said that the Russian plane was downed in response to an alleged violation of Turkish airspace, whereas the Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command confirmed that the Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace and was illegally downed over Syria.