Russia, U.S. agreed to enhance interaction to prevent incidents

Chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford and Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov agreed here on Thursday at a meeting to boost interaction to prevent "unintended incidents", the Azerbaijani media said.

The report, quoting the Russian defense ministry, said the top U.S. and Russian military leaders agreed to undertake efforts to improve safety of military operations in order to reduce tension and avoid the risk of incidents.

The two military leaders also exchanged views on the current state of Russia-U.S. relations, situation in the area of international security in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and other key regions of the world.

It was the first face-to-face meeting between military chiefs from Washington and Moscow since 2014. A Pentagon statement earlier Wednesday said that discussions in Baku would center on "the current state of U.S.-Russian military relations and the importance of consistent and clear military-to-military communication to prevent miscalculation and potential crisis."

On Wednesday, in prepared remarks to a NATO defense ministerial meeting in Brussels, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis stressed that while the United States and NATO seek to engage Russia, it is important at the same time "to defend ourselves if Russia chooses to act contrary to international law."

"We remain open to opportunities to restore a cooperative relationship with Moscow, while being realistic in our expectations and ensuring our diplomats negotiate from a position of strength," Mattis said.

Dunford arrived in Azerbaijan on Thursday to meet with his Russian counterpart Gerasimov.

Prior to the meeting with Gerasimov, Dunford held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Minister of Defence Zakir Hasanov. The sides discussed bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the United States in military, political, economic, energy and security fields. Endit