MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The official added that neither Germany nor the European Union would cooperate with the Syrian army of President Bashar Assad.
"We certainly shall not enter into a military union with Russia to fight IS," Peter Altmaier told Der Spiegel magazine.
On Friday, Germany’s parliament approved a military campaign against the Islamic State as part of the US-led international coalition. The campaign will end on December 31, 2016, and will cost more than $145 million. The decision now needs to be approved by the country’s Bundesrat which comprises of representatives from Germany’s 16 federal regions.
Members of the coalition do not see Assad as the legitimate ruler of Syria, and have been supporting the so-called moderate opposition in the country that seeks to oust him.
Russia has been launching airstrikes against Daesh positions in Syria on Assad’s request since September.
