Former British Envoy Hopes Moscow and London Will Fight ISIL Together

Former British ambassador to Russia Tony Brenton told Sputnik on Tuesday he hopes that the United Kingdom would cooperate with Russia should the UK government approve airstrikes against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The former envoy pointed to an "exaggeratedly hostile" view of Russia’s anti-ISIL efforts in Syria by the British press.

"I would very much like to see more cooperation with Russia because we have a shared objective there," Brenton said.

Russia commenced airstrikes on terrorist positions in Syria on September 30 at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"I think there are some arguments for what Russia is doing particularly in Syria," Brenton observed, stressing the need for Moscow and London to smooth over talks in case the UK Parliament votes in favor of anti-ISIL strikes in Syria.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its Aerospace Forces had conducted over 700 flights over Syria, destroying up to 40 percent of terrorist targets, including equipment and infrastructure.