Putin Closely Monitoring Possible Terrorist Threat Against Russia From ISIL

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the country's intelligence services are closely monitoring possible terrorist threats against Russia from the Islamic State group, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

MOSCOW, September 25 (Sputnik) — Putin previously said that Moscow is concerned about the spreading influence of ISIL, which openly intends to expand into Europe, Russia, Central and Southeast Asia.

"Naturally, the terrorist threat is always the focus of attention at agencies and departments legally required to do this work… You know that these are the Anti-Terrorism Committee, the Federal Security Service, and other specialized agencies. Of course, this is quite closely monitored by the head of state," Peskov told reporters.

In late June, Putin called on Syria and countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to join forces in the battle against the Islamic State militant group by establishing an anti-terrorism coalition. Later, he discussed the issue with his US counterpart Barack Obama.

The US-led international coalition has been conducting airstrikes against ISIL positions in the country, as well as in Iraq.

Russia has repeatedly criticized the coalition for not first seeking approval from either the UN Security Council or the Syrian government before launching the campaign and called on the West and its allies to join forces with Damascus in the fight against terrorism.