The director of the Center for Partnership of Civilizations of the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations, Veniamin Popov, talks about the phenomenon of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. A coalition consisting of the United States, France, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom is conducting military operations in Syria and Iraq against a militant group known as Islamic State. For many years Russia has been leading an active fight against international terrorism, not accepting a policy of double standards. The United States had previously ignored Moscow's proposals to cooperate in fighting against terrorism in Syria, underestimating the threat posed by Islamic State. The militants had been supported during the regime change in Libya and similar attempts in Syria. Today, Russia is providing assistance and support to Iraq, Syria and other countries in the region in their fight against Islamic State.
