Russian President Vladimir Putin asked French officials to create a map indicating the location of troops in Syria fighting against the Islamic State — a terrorist organization banned in Russia — in order to avoid Russian air forces bombing them, the Kommersant newspaper reported, citing French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
“He asked us to put together a map indicating the exact location of non-terrorist forces fighting against the Islamic State. As soon as we give it to him, he promises that he will not bomb them,” he told the RTL radio station on Friday.
On Thursday Putin met with French President Francois Hollande. In the course of the meeting Hollande and Putin agreed to target just the Islamic State group and share intelligence in order to avoid bombing other groups fighting against it.
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