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| Hollande's anti-Isis talks with Putin complicated by downing of Russian jet | Hollande's anti-Isis talks with Putin complicated by downing of Russian jet |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| François Hollande and Vladimir Putin will talk over dinner in the Kremlin on Thursday evening as the French president continues diplomatic efforts to form a broad coalition against Islamic State after the Paris attacks. | François Hollande and Vladimir Putin will talk over dinner in the Kremlin on Thursday evening as the French president continues diplomatic efforts to form a broad coalition against Islamic State after the Paris attacks. |
| Hollande met Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday and Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, in Paris earlier on Thursday. He met David Cameron on Monday and Angela Merkel on Wednesday. | Hollande met Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday and Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, in Paris earlier on Thursday. He met David Cameron on Monday and Angela Merkel on Wednesday. |
| His trip to Moscow will last just a few hours, as he is whisked to the Kremlin for one-on-one talks with Putin followed by a working dinner set to include his foreign and defence ministers. | His trip to Moscow will last just a few hours, as he is whisked to the Kremlin for one-on-one talks with Putin followed by a working dinner set to include his foreign and defence ministers. |
| So far the pledges have been vague, and efforts to form a broad coalition have been further complicated by the shooting down of a Russian jet by the Turkish air force on Tuesday. | So far the pledges have been vague, and efforts to form a broad coalition have been further complicated by the shooting down of a Russian jet by the Turkish air force on Tuesday. |
| Related: France's anti-Isis coalition: where the key countries stand | Related: France's anti-Isis coalition: where the key countries stand |
| Since the start of the conflict, the main bone of contention between Russia and the west has been whether the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, is part of the problem or part of the solution. | Since the start of the conflict, the main bone of contention between Russia and the west has been whether the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, is part of the problem or part of the solution. |
| Moscow has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria for nearly two months, which western capitals say are aimed less at fighting Isis and more at propping up the Assad regime. Putin has said the best way to defeat Isis is to support the “legitimate government” of Assad and not to allow the institutions of state to crumble as in Iraq and Libya. | Moscow has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria for nearly two months, which western capitals say are aimed less at fighting Isis and more at propping up the Assad regime. Putin has said the best way to defeat Isis is to support the “legitimate government” of Assad and not to allow the institutions of state to crumble as in Iraq and Libya. |
| Hollande hopes to persuade Putin that Syria’s future must be without Assad, although in recent weeks he has become more amenable to the idea of a short transition period in which Assad could remain nominally in charge. Neither side expects a breakthrough on Thursday. | Hollande hopes to persuade Putin that Syria’s future must be without Assad, although in recent weeks he has become more amenable to the idea of a short transition period in which Assad could remain nominally in charge. Neither side expects a breakthrough on Thursday. |
| The diplomatic push is complicated by the differing goals of many of the players in the supposed coalition. The Turkish attack on the Russian Su-24 has made unity even harder. Russia, which reacted furiously to the Turkish incident, outlined retaliatory economic measures on Thursday, though it has ruled out a military response. | |
| Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said broad punitive steps could include halting joint economic projects, restricting financial and trade transactions and changing customs duties. | |
| Putin accused Turkey of deliberately trying to bring relations between Moscow and Ankara to a standstill, adding that Moscow was still awaiting an apology or an offer of reimbursement for damages. He earlier called the act a “stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists” and promed “serious consequences”. | |
| Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said “those who violated our airspace are the ones who need to apologise”. “Our pilots and our armed forces, they simply fulfilled their duties,” he told CNN. In a speech to local officials in Ankara, he dismissed as “emotional” and “unfitting” Russian suggestions that joint projects with Russia could be cancelled. | |
| Related: Despite sound and fury Putin wary of letting jet incident spiral out of control | Related: Despite sound and fury Putin wary of letting jet incident spiral out of control |
| Russia has insisted its plane never left Syrian airspace, while Turkey says it crossed into its airspace for 17 seconds. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that even if this was the case, shooting the plane down was an extreme over-reaction and looked like a pre-planned “provocation”. | Russia has insisted its plane never left Syrian airspace, while Turkey says it crossed into its airspace for 17 seconds. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that even if this was the case, shooting the plane down was an extreme over-reaction and looked like a pre-planned “provocation”. |
| The plane’s pilot and a marine sent on a rescue mission died. The surviving navigator claimed in an interview with Russian television that he received no audio or visual warning before the plane was shot down. The Turks have released audio recordings of what they say are warnings issued to the plane over radio. | The plane’s pilot and a marine sent on a rescue mission died. The surviving navigator claimed in an interview with Russian television that he received no audio or visual warning before the plane was shot down. The Turks have released audio recordings of what they say are warnings issued to the plane over radio. |
| Lavrov has backed Hollande’s proposal to close off the Syria-Turkey border, considered the main crossing point for foreign fighters seeking to join Isis. “I think this is a good proposal and tomorrow President Hollande will talk to us in greater detail about it. We would be ready to seriously consider the necessary measures for this,” he said on Wednesday. | Lavrov has backed Hollande’s proposal to close off the Syria-Turkey border, considered the main crossing point for foreign fighters seeking to join Isis. “I think this is a good proposal and tomorrow President Hollande will talk to us in greater detail about it. We would be ready to seriously consider the necessary measures for this,” he said on Wednesday. |
| In Britain, a vote of MPs is due next week on the extension of airstrikes from Iraq to Syria. On Monday Cameron told Hollande that France could use a British air base in Cyprus to fly missions against Isis. | In Britain, a vote of MPs is due next week on the extension of airstrikes from Iraq to Syria. On Monday Cameron told Hollande that France could use a British air base in Cyprus to fly missions against Isis. |
| On Wednesday Merkel held talks with Hollande in Paris and said she would act “swiftly” to work out how Germany could offer more support. | On Wednesday Merkel held talks with Hollande in Paris and said she would act “swiftly” to work out how Germany could offer more support. |