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Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday. America’s Secretary of State John Kerry said that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad should leave power, but Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Assad should meet with the Syrian opposition to discuss a settlement to the conflict. Though Russia claimed to target the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), it bombed other opponents of the Assad regime as well, including units trained armed by America’s Central Intelligence Agency. The Economist argues that Russia’s intervention might increase the chances for peace. Russia said that its airstrikes would last a few months, even as activists on the grounds reported that most of the Russian strikes hit civilian targets, and seven nations (France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States) criticized Russia’s actions.