The US and its allies should cooperate with Syrian President Bashar Assad in fighting Daesh, “a common enemy” of the international community, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview on Sunday.

“Our American partners and some countries in the region persistently refuse to recognize Assad as a partner, which is rather strange,” Russia Today quoted Lavrov as saying.

“Assad was a fully legitimate partner in destroying chemical arms but somehow he is not when it comes to fighting terrorism,” Lavrov added.