Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that the only way to form an international coalition against ISIS is for the West to drop demands Syrian President Bashar al-Assad resign. “That the stance that the real battle with Islamic State can only be resolved once the fate of Assad is clear, that this position will put to one side,” he said. “In my opinion, there can now be no doubts that it is simply unacceptable to put forward any preconditions in order to unite in the battle against so-called Islamic State terrorists.”
