Europe Readies Islamic State Fight as Hollande Courts Putin
- Cameron and Merkel seek support for increased air power
- Hollande aims to find common ground with Putin on Syria
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European leaders moved quickly to aid France’s fight against Islamic State as French President Francois Hollande traveled to Moscow to seek tighter coordination of his war planning with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Galvanized by the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris that killed 130 civilians, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to stand by France in its stepped-up efforts to defeat the extremist group in Syria and Iraq. Cameron exhorted lawmakers to back wider British air strikes in the region, while Merkel sought support for deploying reconnaissance aircraft.