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U.S., Russian defense officials discuss flight safety over Syria

Xinhua, January 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. and Russian defense officials on Thursday held a video conference to discuss implementation of the U.S.-Russia memorandum of understanding on flight safety over Syrian airspace, the Pentagon said.

The call was co-chaired by U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Elissa Slotkin and Joint Staff Director for Strategic Plans and Policy Kenneth F. McKenzie and their counterparts in the Russian Defense Ministry, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

"The two sides discussed measures to enhance operational safety for counter-ISIL coalition and Russian military forces operating in Syria, including the means to avoid accidents and unintended confrontation between coalition and Russian forces whenever the two sides operate in close proximity," Cook said.

ISIL is the acronym used by the U.S. for the terror group Islamic State (IS).

"The conversation was constructive and the two sides agreed to continue safety discussions in this format in the future," Cook noted.

Since September 2014, the U.S.-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against IS targets in Syria. Russia, at the request of the Syrian government, has also started air bombing operations against IS in Syria since September 2015.

In order to avoid misunderstanding or accidents, the U.S. and Russia signed last year a Memorandum of Understanding on safety procedures for their respective air operations in Syria.

The latest discussions followed the video conferences held by U.S. and Russian defense officials in October 2015 to discuss the implementation of the MOU. Endit