François Hollande asks Germany to do more in fight against Islamic State

French president François Hollande sought to squeeze a greater anti-terror commitment out of Germany in the war on Islamic State, prompting German chancellor Angela Merkel to say she’ll consider more help.

Hosting Dr Merkel in Paris after a trip to Washington and before visiting Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Mr Hollande welcomed her offer to send 650 troops to Mali to free up French forces.

Even so, he suggested, Germany could set aside military restraint and “engage even more in the fight against Isis in Syria and in Iraq.”

“Knowing the rules that exist in Germany in terms of external intervention, if Germany can go further, it would be a very good signal in the fight against terrorism,” Mr Hollande told reporters yesterday before talks with Dr Merkel over dinner.

Dr Merkel backed military action against Islamic State and said she would “react very quickly” to French requests.

As world powers intensify efforts to beat back Islamic State and resolve Syria’s civil war after the November 13th attacks in Paris, Mr Hollande is seeking to enlist Germany in an anti-terror alliance with the US and Russia.

‘Any kind of help’

Merkel repeated her promise made after the Paris attacks that Germany is ready to offer France “any kind of help,” though she didn’t specify what that might be.

Military deployments require parliamentary approval in Germany, a legacy of the nation’s Nazi past.

“If the French president asks me to think about what we can do beyond that, then it’s our task to consider it – and we will react very quickly,” said Dr Merkel, who visited the Place de la Republique in Paris to honour victims of the attacks that killed 130 people.

“Terrorism is our common enemy. Islamic State won’t be persuaded by words; Islamic State must be fought with military means,” she said. – Bloomberg