Kerry meets with Hollande, vows 'greater pressure' on Islamic State

PARIS, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- After a meeting Tuesday in Paris, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and French President Francois Hollande promised to increase pressure on the Islamic State.

Days after a series of terror attacks in Paris linked to the militant group, the two men discussed "significant steps" both countries will take "together" to advance an offensive against the group, which also goes by the name ISIS, ISIL and Daesh.

Hollande is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., in a week to meet with President Barack Obama to further discuss the efforts.

"Everybody understands that with Lebanon's attacks, with what's happened in Egypt, with Ankara, Turkey and attacks in Paris, we have to step up our efforts to hit them at the core where they're planning these things, and also obviously to do more on borders in terms of the movement of people," Kerry said. "Over the course of the next weeks, Daesh will feel greater pressure. They are feeling it today. They felt it yesterday. They felt it in the past weeks."

Kerry, the first senior U.S. official to visit Paris after the terrorist attacks that left 129 dead, visited the American Embassy in Paris, thanking the staff for their work. He said the United States has no choice but to wage war on the IS.

"We're not choosing to randomly go to war. We're trying to avoid it, trying to find a better path," Kerry said at the embassy. "If somebody is willing to die -- if you want to go die on any given day -- unfortunately, you can take some people with you."

Kerry spoke a day after Hollande addressed both of France's parliamentary chambers and called for global efforts to eradicate the IS.