Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova continues to slam the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Syria in her press briefing this morning:
"Members of the U.S. coalition in Syria, in some cases claim they are acting within [the coalition] and in other cases, when it suits them -- independently."
"It's important that the French, English and Germans are able to make a real contribution to the fight against IS," Zakharova says.
Russia Slams Ankara's 'Ethnic Cleansing' Claims As 'Detatched From Reality'
Ankara's claims that Russia is carrying out ethnic cleansing of Turkoman rebels in Syria are "totally detatched from reality and baseless," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in her press briefing this morning.
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made the accusation yesterday that Russia was aiming to ethnically cleanse Turkoman and Sunni communities in Latakia.
"The leadership in Ankara... said that Russia is allegedly carrying out ethnic cleansing in Syria. These statements are strange to comment on because they are speak to the complete detatchment of the Turkish leadership from life, from reality, from what is really happening in the region. This is not the first time we've heard this," Zakharova said.
Relations between Turkey and Russia have plummeted since Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 jet near the Syrian border on November 24.
Two of Turkey’s top officials traveled to Baghdad today to try to defuse a diplomatic row with the Iraqi government over the deployment of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News is reporting this morning.
National Intelligence Organization (MİT) head Hakan Fidan and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu have been sent for a one-day visit to Baghdad, according to the report.
Around 900 residents of Daghestan in Russia's North Caucasus and fighting in Syria, according to the republic's Interior Ministry chief Abdurashid Magomedov.
"Law enforcement authorities in Daghestan have information about around 900 Daghestanis who are right now in Syria in the ranks of the IS group. Some of them have taken their families, children and are guided by pseudoreligious ideas," Magomedov told students at Daghestan State University.
Relatives of those killed in the October 31 crash of Metrojet flight 9268 in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula filed a complaint at a Moscow court today against the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin.
The IS group's local affiliate in Sinai claimed responsibility for the crash, saying it placed a bomb on board the flight, which had been en route to St Petersburg from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 of the flight's passengers and crew were killed in the disaster.
A lawyer for the complainants said that the complaint asks the court to recognize the lack of activity on behalf of the Investigative Committee and order Bastrykin to answer the complaints and reports of the victims.
The complainants say they have made two requests to Bastrykin, one of which concerns a decision regarding criminal prosecution of employees of the Ingosstrakh insurance company, which has allegedly fraudulently obtained a declaration from relatives of those killed in the disaster, limiting their right to turn to the court for compensation.
AP has posted video of the impromptu concert staged last night by Madonna in the Republique Plaza in Paris, which has been used as a public memorial for the 130 people killed in the November 13 attacks.
The IS group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Israel's chief of the General Staff has said that air strikes alone will not defeat the IS group.
Speaking at a private event today, Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot added that an end to the fighting in Syria and a political settlement depended on cooperation between the United States and Russia.
His comments come after Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said last weekend that the United States should become more active in the fight against IS, adding that a vacuum in Syria was being filled by Russia and Iran.
Breaking news from the BBC: Swiss police have raised the terror alert in Geneva acting on intelligence of terror suspects in the city or the wider region.
First Chinese Man Reported To Have Gone To Syria To Fight IS
A young Chinese man, Pan Yang from Sichuan Province, has become the first Chinese citizen known to have traveled to Syria to fight alongside Kurdish militias against the IS group, according to the Huaxi Metropolitan Daily newspaper.
Pan's sister, who has called for him to come home, said that her elderly parents had no idea where Syria is or what the IS group is.
Pan Yang told the BBC's Chinese service last week that he was fighting alongside the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
Swiss police are searching Geneva for suspects in connection with the Paris attacks, AFP is reporting.