Putin: UK and Russia ‘Should Join Efforts in Fighting Terror’ Following Paris Attacks

Putin tells UK Russia looks to focus more on Islamic State (Reuters)

President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister David Cameron on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Turkey he was seeking to do more to focus Russian efforts on combating Islamic state, a source in Cameron's office said.

The killing of 132 people in coordinated attacks across Paris on Friday shifted the focus of the usually economic summit onto terrorism. Islamic State, which holds large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq, claimed responsibility.

Russia and Britain back opposing sides in Syria's four-and-a-half-year war. Moscow is supplying weapons to President Bashar al-Assad while London supports moderate opposition fighters. Both states have conducted air strikes against Islamic State there, but Western capitals have accused Moscow of focusing too little on Islamic State, while targeting Assad's enemies.