Appearing at a discussion panel Monday for the Foreign Policy Initiative, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves rebuked a reporter from Sputnik International.
The reporter, Leandra Bernstein, said that the disagreement between the United States and other Western countries and Russia on how to combat Islamic extremists in Syria was "prolonging the conflict."
"How do you approach these Russian strikes in terms of potentially cooperating or is that completely out of the picture?" Bernstein asked.
The Estonian president laughed at the question.
"You are from Sputnik, yes?" Ilves said. "You are bombing the wrong people; civilians—not ISIL, not Daesh. Period."
"I think that puts it well," Kirchick said before turning to another question.
Russian forces have conducted air strikes in Syria to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since last week. Despite warnings from the Obama administration, Vladimir Putin has continued to intervene in the Middle East against moderate Syrian forces supported by the U.S. and Arab allies.
Assad has welcomed Putin’s assistance at the expense of U.S. interests and resources. The leader, who stands accused of deliberately using chemical weapons against innocent civilians, said a coalition of Syria, Russia, Iran, and Iraq could more effectively combat the Islamic State.
During other portions of the panel discussion, Ilves accused parties opposed to Russia’s aggression of being apathetic and having "little political will" push against Putin, highlighting the annexation of Crimea as an obvious example.