The U.S. is nearing completion of a memorandum of understanding with Russia governing flight safety over Syria, a defense official said Wednesday.
Defense Department representatives spoke with their Russian counterparts for the third time in a video teleconference on Wednesday. Details of the talks were not made available, but a defense official said an agreement could be signed and implemented in the coming days.
Information on what type of deconfliction or communication would be required in the final memo was not immediately available.
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A statement from the Russian Defense Ministry said the talks were “constructive” and professional.
“The parties converged in key provisions of the document and agreed in future steps,” the statement said.
The Russians have conducted about 80 strikes in Syria since beginning to fly there two weeks ago, Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said Tuesday.
Except for the Russians informing U.S. officials that the strikes would begin, there has been no coordination to ensure the aircraft don’t collide.
Warren said there have been “several” incidents where Russian and U.S. air assets were close to each other. The most recent on Saturday saw planes from the two countries about 10 to 20 miles apart. In that incident, pilots from both countries behaved appropriately and neither had to alter their course, he said.
