MOSCOW -- The presidents of France and Russia agreed Thursday to tighten cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group.
But the two countries remained at odds over their approach toward Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for deadly attacks against both of the countries' citizens in recent weeks: Nov. 13 shootings and suicide bombings in Paris, which killed 130 people, and the Oct. 31 bombing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula that killed 224.
French President Francois Hollande has been on a diplomatic drive since the Paris attacks to increase cooperation in tackling the Islamic State, which holds territory in Syria and Iraq. He has met this week with President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi before flying to Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hollande and Putin agreed on increasing intelligence sharing, intensifying their airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria and cooperating on selecting targets -- two days after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border.
"We agreed on a very important issue: To strike the terrorists only, Daesh and the jihadi groups only, and not to strike the forces and the groups that are fighting against the terrorists," Hollande said after the meeting, referring to the Islamic State as Daesh, its Arabic acronym. "And we are going to exchange some information about that: what can be struck and what must not be struck."
But the two countries remain at odds in their approach toward Assad, with Hollande saying the Syrian head of state "does not have his place in Syria's future," and Putin stressing that "the Syrian president's fate should be entirely in the hands of the Syrian people."
Putin described Assad's army as a "natural ally" in the fight against the Islamic State -- an essential force capable of battling the extremist group on the ground. He added that Russia was ready to cooperate with other groups ready to fight the Islamic State.
Russia has been Assad's staunchest ally and has come under criticism for targeting some rebel groups that are fighting against the Islamic State and Assad in Syria's multifaceted civil war.
Obama, after meeting with Hollande, had said Russian cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State would be "enormously helpful." The U.S. has also insisted that a political transition in Syria must lead to Assad's departure.
"We view the U.S.-led coalition with respect and stand ready to cooperate with it," Putin said. "We believe that we would better create a single, united coalition as it would be easier, simpler and more efficient to coordinate our work that way."
However, he said, "if our partners aren't ready for that, OK, we are ready to work in a different format that is acceptable to our partners. We are ready to cooperate with the U.S.-led coalition."
Last week, Hollande called for the U.S. and Russia to set aside their policy divisions over Syria and "fight this terrorist army in a broad, single coalition." But his office acknowledges that "coordination" sounds like a far more realistic goal.
While pledging closer cooperation, Putin also harshly criticized Washington for failing to prevent the downing of a Russian warplane engaged in airstrikes in Syria by NATO member Turkey on Tuesday.
Turkey said it shot down the Russian Su-24 bomber after it flew into its airspace for 17 seconds despite repeated warnings. Putin dismissed the Turkish claim of intrusion and held the U.S. responsible for failing to rein in its ally, saying that Russia had informed the U.S. about its military flights in the area in advance.
Putin denounced the Turkish action, saying it "thoughtlessly and rudely" destroyed friendly ties between the two countries. Russia will protect its warplanes from now on with long-range S-400 air defense missiles deployed at its air base in Syria, as well as escort fighters and electronic countermeasures, he said.
Hollande described the shoot-down as a "serious incident, obviously regrettable" that underlined the need for closer coordination among nations fighting the Islamic State.
"It is crucial in that period to avoid any risk, any incident, and prevent any escalation," Hollande said. "The only goal we must have is fighting Daesh and neutralize the terrorists. There is no other goal."
In Germany, Merkel's Cabinet decided to send reconnaissance aircraft, tanker planes and a warship to help in the fight against the Islamic State.
Germany plans to contribute Tornado surveillance planes, a frigate to help protect France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, and aerial refueling for French fighter jets and satellite data, said Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday.
"The government today decided on difficult but important and necessary steps," von der Leyen told reporters after privately briefing Merkel's parliamentary group. "We all joined together in the awareness that we're firmly at France's side."
Between four and six of the planes, which have special cameras and infrared equipment to detect enemy positions, would be deployed and used only for surveillance, not combat, according to officials in Merkel's governing coalition.
During Merkel's visit in Paris on Wednesday, Hollande had said it would "be a very good signal in the fight against terrorism" if Germany could do more against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Germany currently provides weapons and training for Kurds fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq.
The decision still needs parliamentary approval, but it was expected to not meet much resistance by lawmakers.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a member of Merkel's Social Democratic coalition partner, said Germany's proposed contribution is "on firm ground" under international law after the United Nations Security Council last week called for global action against the Islamic State.
"We won't be able to get by without a military confrontation" with the Islamic State "and other terrorist groups in Syria," Steinmeier said.
Putin said Russia was mourning for Paris victims as well as those who were killed in the Russian passenger plane bombing, and he praised Hollande's efforts to build an anti-terror coalition.
At least two known suspects of the Paris attacks are still at large, and a manhunt continues in France and Belgium for their capture.
Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens said Paris fugitive Salah Abdeslam was "likely" getting support from others, saying it was unlikely Abdeslam could hide for nearly two weeks without help.
Belgian authorities carried out three raids linked to the Paris attacks Thursday outside of the capital, Brussels, but made no arrests. Five suspects are already in custody in Belgium on terrorism charges related to the attacks.
Prime Minister Charles Michel announced that the alert level in Brussels was being lowered one notch from the highest level, where it has been since Saturday. Subways are to fully reopen today. Despite the reduction in alert level, Michel said, an attack remains "possible and likely."
The lowering of the threat level came as a surprise because the government had said it would likely keep the highest threat level until Monday. Michel declined to explain the thinking behind the decision, but Luc Verheyden, who was deputy director of the threat analysis unit from 2006-10, said the change indicated that authorities were no longer aware of a particular, precise plot.
The elevated alert had put Brussels in a state of virtual lockdown -- with schools, museums, government offices, public transportation and markets all closed.
Even before the threat level was lowered, some elements of normalcy had returned -- schools and transit lines reopened Wednesday -- although the city remained jittery, and its streets were patrolled by heavily armed soldiers and armored military vehicles.
The president of the Brussels region, Rudi Vervoort, cautioned that while the lowering of the threat level was "good news," the crisis was far from over.
On Thursday, the Grand Mosque in Brussels was evacuated and a hazardous-materials crew was sent in, after an envelope with a suspicious white powder was found, raising fears of an anthrax attack such as those in the United States in 2001. The powder turned out to be harmless.
Information for this article was contributed by Sylvie Corbet, Vladimir Isachenkov, Nataliya Vasilyeva, Raf Casert, Kirsten Grieshaber and Elena Becatoros of The Associated Press; by Birgit Jennen, Patrick Donahue and Arne Delfs of Bloomberg News; and by Andrew Higgins and James Kanter of The New York Times.
A Section on 11/27/2015