French President Francois Hollande was due in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin, as part of his whirlwind tour to forge a broader coalition against ISIS group in the wake of the Paris attacks. The French president met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Paris Thursday morning, before heading to Moscow where he is set to hold talks with the Russian strongman. Hollande has been on a diplomatic marathon seeking to build a coalition to crush ISIS group in Iraq and Syria but has seen few concrete pledges so far, and his campaign has been further complicated by a furious diplomatic spat between Russia and Turkey. France invoked a clause requiring EU member states to provide military assistance after the November 13 attacks in Paris, when 130 people lost their lives in a wave of killings by suicide bombers and gunmen claimed by the IS extremists. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pledged to stand beside France in its fight against the jihadist group after talks with Hollande, vowing to act "swiftly" to see how Germany can help in the fight against terrorism. The French and German leaders each laid a pink rose among the tributes of flowers and candles in Place de la Republique, the Paris square that has become a rallying point since the November 13 attacks. Hours earlier, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Germany would send 650 soldiers to Mali to provide some relief to French forces fighting jihadists there. Meanwhile in Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron will on Thursday set out the case to the UK parliamant for his country to extend its air strikes against ISIS militants from Iraq into Syria ahead of a vote by MPs next week. The British premier has called the ISIS group a "direct threat to our security at home and abroad" and on Monday offered to let France use the RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus for missions against the jihadists. Cameron met with Hollande earlier this week and has said he "firmly supported" France's actions, but US President Barack Obama has given the idea of greater cooperation with Russia against the IS jihadists a much cooler reception. Obama said on Tuesday that Russia was welcome to join the alliance against ISIS jihadists, but must redirect its air strikes away from anti-Syrian regime rebels towards the jihadists. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is attacking IS group targets. Courting Russia The French president's diplomatic efforts suffered a blow after Turkey shot down a Russian jet on Tuesday, sparking a furious diplomatic row between the rival powers fighting in Syria that has threatened to escalate into a wider conflict. Turkey has offered no apology for the downing of the jet, which sparked outrage in Russia, where the government says it is preparing a raft of retaliatory economic measures. The sole surviving Russian pilot said Thursday he had received no warning and the aircraft did not violate Turkish air space, prompting the Turkish army to release audio recordings it said proved the Russian jet had been repeatedly warned to change course. Moscow has intensified its strikes in Syria after the ISIS group claimed it brought down a Russian passenger plane over Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board. Ankara and Moscow are on opposing sides in the four-year Syrian conflict, with Turkey wanting bitterly opposed to President Bashar al-Assad while Russia is one of his last remaining allies. French authorities also disagree with Moscow on Assad's fate, but the recent terrorist attacks aimed at French and Russian citizens have prompted a rapprochement between the two countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei 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 extremists. "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," Lavrov said in Moscow. On Wednesday, French lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of pursuing military operations against the jihadist group in Syria, which French officials refer to by the Arabic term "Daesh". Addressing the French parliament, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said "there is no alternative, we must annihilate Daesh".
