US President Barack Obama said addressing the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur that Russia must make a strategic decision about Syria and over the next weeks will show whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will stop backing Bashar al-Assad and join international efforts against Islamic State.

“Early Russian strikes on Syria appeared to favor targeting opposition positions, not Islamic State. We will not relent against ISIS or accept terrorism as the new normal. Combating ISIS is a realistic goal and we will pursue it,” he said adding that they will destroy ISIL.

“And so even as we destroy ISIL on the battlefield, and we will destroy them, we will take back land that they are currently in, we will cut off financing, we will hunt down their leadership, we will dismantle their networks and their supply lines and we will ultimately destroy them, even as we’re doing that, we want to make sure that we don’t lose our own values and principles”, Mr. Obama said.

Mr Obama said the terrorist attacks must not be allowed to cause a distorted reaction and people should not give in fear.

“We will not accept the idea that terrorist assaults on restaurants, theatres or hotels are the new normal,” he said adding that “We will not give into fear or turning on each other.”

Mr. Obama said the US and its allies will continue with their battle against Islamic State adding that he is confident that they would ultimately destroy the Islamic State group, which has shown an ability to strike targets far beyond its base in Syria and Iraq.