U.S., Russia Vow Intel-Sharing On Islamic State

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said October 14 that he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov have agreed to step up intelligence sharing over the Islamic State (IS) group.

The two held a three-hour-long meeting in Paris during which they discussed mainly the situation in Ukraine.

But Kerry said after the meeting that he and Lavrov had also discussed "whether Russia could do more to support Iraqi security forces" fighting IS.

The hard-line group has seized large swaths of territory in both Iraq and Syria.

Kerry said Lavrov "indeed acknowledged [Russia's] preparedness to help with respect to arms, weapons, they are doing that now, they already have provided some, and also potentially with the training and advising aspects."

He said he and Lavrov recognised "that ISIL has absolutely no place in the 21st century."

Based on reporting by AFP and AP