French President Francois Hollande will hold talks on Thursday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as part of his diplomatic marathon to forge a broad coalition against ISIS jehadists in the wake of the Paris attacks.
The French President met Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Paris early Thurday and will later head to Moscow.
Hollande has been on a whirlwind tour seeking to build a coalition to crush ISIS in Iraq and Syria but has won few concrete pledges so far, and his campaign has been further complicated by a spat between Russia and Turkey over a downed jet.
Renzi offered only vague support for “a coalition of greater and greater strength that is up to the task of... The destruction of Daesh”, using another name for ISIS.
France invoked a clause requiring EU states to provide military assistance after the attacks in Paris, when 130 people lost their lives.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pledged to stand beside France after talks with Hollande, saying she would act “swiftly” to see how her country can help in the fight against terrorism.