The bombing of the Islamic State terrorists is underway in Syria and Iraq. Washington claims that the strikes are delivered by an international coalition set to fight this terrorist organisation.

In principle, active opposition to terrorism is worthy of note. However, the context of the current developments continues to generate questions. To begin with, the United States and the West as a whole closed their eyes to the terrorist nature of the Islamic State when it was fighting government troops in Syria. The legitimacy of the strikes is also questionable, because such actions can only be taken with a UN sanction and clear agreement of the government of the country where they are undertaken, in this case the Damascus government.

Russia is not the only state asking these questions. Moreover, only the United States, France and several Arab countries are involved in the bombing and shelling operation, whereas the other countries that pledged to join the operation have limited their involvement to humanitarian actions. In other words, this is not a broad coalition.

The effectiveness of the air strikes is not obvious either. Despite loud “victory” reports, the Islamic State (IS) terrorists continue the siege of Kobane (Ayn al-Arab) in northeast Syria, whose residents, in case the city will be captured, face cruel persecution if not extermination. Following the US air strikes, the IS terrorists in the Syrian town of Deir ez-Zor have blown up an Armenian church and defiled the remains of the victims of the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century.

In view of the ongoing developments in Iraq and Syria, Russia has spoken up for a consistent and principled policy of effective opposition to terrorism as an absolute evil. We firmly believe that the issue of terrorism and the reasons behind its expansion, including in the Middle East and North Africa, merit a serious and comprehensive analysis. We urge all responsible members of the international community to contribute to drafting and implementing a common anti-terror strategy. Only such a comprehensive approach, rather than a coalition pursuing a narrow agenda of fighting the Islamic State, can produce the desired result and help to free humankind from this 21st-century plague.