The United States, the European Union and Arab states are starting to understand the need to join forces against the Islamic State extremist group, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. "The reactions of our American colleagues, our European colleagues, a growing number of Gulf countries and other countries in the region show that they are beginning to understand what is more important now, some artificial ultimatums in regard to Syrian settlement, or joint work to fight this common evil," Lavrov told students and faculty of Moscow State Institute of International Relations. In late June, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Syria and countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to join forces in the battle against ISIS and establish an anti-terrorism coalition. On August 19, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that Russia's initiative to establish a coalition to counter extremist groups had received widespread support among Western allies and countries in the Middle East. ISIS has seized large areas in Syria and Iraq in recent years. The group is spreading its influence to other countries, recruiting new fighters all over the world.
