Syria conflict: Russia considers joining anti-IS air strikes Published duration 29 September 2015 Related Topics Syrian civil war

image copyright US Dept of Defence image caption The US has been conducting air strikes against IS since August 2014

Russia is considering whether to follow the US and its allies in conducting air strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets, President Vladimir Putin says.

Mr Putin spoke after meeting Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

But the meeting, and the leaders' speeches at the UNGA, also highlighted splits about how to end the Syrian war.

Russia said it would be an "enormous mistake" not to work with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to tackle IS.

On Monday, the US and France again insisted that President Assad must go. But in response, Mr Putin said: "They aren't citizens of Syria and so should not be involved in choosing the leadership of another country."

Russia would conduct air strikes only if they were approved by the United Nations, he said, while also ruling out Russian troops taking part in a ground operation in Syria.

media caption Vladimir Putin: "Our talks were very constructive, business-like and surprisingly frank"

The two leaders met for 90 minutes on the sidelines of the UNGA in talks that Mr Putin called "very constructive, business-like and frank".

It was their first face-to-face meeting in almost a year, with the Ukraine war also on the agenda.

A senior US government official said neither president was "seeking to score points" in the talks. Both sides agreed to open lines of communication to avoid accidental military conflict in the region, the official added.

Putin's progress - by BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg

He came. He left. But it's unclear what Vladimir Putin achieved in New York.

Pro-Kremlin media are portraying Putin's speech and meeting with President Obama as a victory for Russia.

"Vladimir Putin addressed the world" is Komsomolskaya Pravda's headline, reflecting the Kremlin's attempt to reassert Russia's role on the world stage.

On Russian TV, a pro-Kremlin MP has claimed that the timing of Nasa's announcement about water on Mars was designed by Washington to trump the Putin speech.

As for business daily Vedomosti, it notes that the Kremlin's call for a coalition against Islamic State may be "part of a political strategy to remove sanctions" against Russia. It's unclear whether it'll work.

After his meeting with Obama, Mr Putin admitted US-Russian relations had fallen to a very low level and he left no doubt who was to blame: America.

In his speech to the UNGA, Mr Obama said compromise among powers would be essential to ending the Syrian conflict, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives and forced four million people to flee abroad.

media caption Barack Obama says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must go

"The US is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict," he said.

"But we must recognise that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo."

But Mr Putin said it was an "enormous mistake to refuse to co-operate with the Syrian government and its armed forces who are valiantly fighting terrorism face-to-face".

image copyright Getty Images image caption After trading barbs on Syria, the two men shook hands before heading to a face-to-face meeting

He also called for the creation of a "broad anti-terror coalition" to fight IS, comparing it to the international forces that fought against Nazi Germany in World War Two.

US and Middle East reaction to Putin

The Washington Post urges the world to "resist this siren song" of President Putin on Syria, insisting there can be no lasting peace anywhere "on the basis of tyranny restored"

Mr Putin has no particular strategy to contain the Syrian conflict, according to the New York Times, which wonders "how much he can afford to invest in a dead-end war in Syria"

In Syria, however, pro-government al-Thawrah argues that Russia is "setting things straight" after the West "messed up"

Lebanese daily al-Nahar suggests the gap between the US and Russia is being bridged despite their differences on President Assad

Iranian daily al-Vefagh argues the war in Syria is a "Russian national security issue"

The US and Russian leaders have long differed on Syria: the US opposes President Assad remaining in power, while Russia has been a staunch ally of the regime in Damascus and has recently stepped up military support.

Some Western leaders have recently softened their stance towards the Syrian president, conceding that he might be able to stay in power during a political transition.

Syria's civil war

image copyright Reuters

What's the human cost?

More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and one million injured in four and a half years of armed conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a full-scale civil war.

And the survivors?

More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes, four million of them abroad, as forces loyal to President Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other - as well as jihadist militants from IS. Growing numbers of refugees are going to Europe.

How has the world reacted?

Regional and world powers have also been drawn into the conflict. Iran and Russia, along with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, are propping up the Alawite-led government. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are backing the Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France.

The threat of IS extremists and the flow of Syrian refugees to Europe has added urgency to the search for a deal to end the civil war.

Observers also continue to report attacks on civilians by government forces.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that regime aircraft fired missiles at a market in the eastern town of Mayadeen on Monday, killing at least 23 people, including eight children.

A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq for more than a year.

The UK announced this month it had carried out a drone strike against two British citizens in Syria, but has yet to fly manned operations in Syrian airspace.