Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the country's intelligence services are closely monitoring possible terrorist threats against Russia from the Islamic State group, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. In late June, Putin called on Syria and countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to join forces in the battle against the Islamic State militant group by establishing an anti-terrorism coalition. Later, he discussed the issue with his US counterpart Barack Obama. The US-led international coalition has been conducting airstrikes against ISIS positions in the country, as well as in Iraq. Russia has repeatedly criticized the coalition for not first seeking approval from either the UN Security Council or the Syrian government before launching the campaign and called on the West and its allies to join forces with Damascus in the fight against terrorism.
