France, Russia agree to exchange information on Daesh

France and Russia have agreed to strengthen cooperation including exchanging military intelligence related to Daesh in Syria, Palestinian newspaper Al-Resalah reported yesterday.

“We have agreed to strengthen our exchange of military information, both on the strikes and the location of the different groups [in Syria],” French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu.

He added: “Our intelligence services will strengthen their already existing ties, which require increased cooperation… This is not an alliance, but coordination,” noting that the goal of the information exchanges is to decide what kind of action needs to be taken.

Following French and Russian airstrikes, Le Drian said they had agreed on a certain way to assess the identity of Daesh fighters and other “terrorist groups”.

The meeting between the French and Russian officials came to continue discussions conducted between French and Russian presidents on 26 November, attempting to form a wider anti-Daesh coalition after the Paris attacks.

Following the meeting of the two officials, the Russian defence ministry released a statement, saying that the ministers “acknowledged the presence of a common enemy and confirmed their readiness to face it together”.

The statement added: “Shoygu stressed that only by joining the efforts of all the concerned nations, can one eliminate the terrorist threat to the people of Paris, Moscow, London and other European cities.”