US and Russian defense chiefs spoke for the first time in more than a year on Friday, breaking their silence to discuss the crisis in Syria as Moscow’s increasing military build-up there raised the prospect of coordination between the former Cold War foes.
The Pentagon said the call lasted about 50 minutes and included an agreement for further US-Russian talks about ways to keep their respective militaries out of each other’s way, something known as “deconfliction” in military parlance.
The United States fiercely opposes Russia’s support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The Pentagon last year cut off high-level military talks with Moscow after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine.
But Russia’s build-up at Syria’s Latakia airbase raises the possibility of simultaneous US and Russian air combat missions in Syrian airspace.
Heavy Russian equipment such as tanks and helicopters, as well as naval infantry forces, have recently been moved to Latakia, an Assad stronghold, US officials say.
US defence secretary Ash Carter has told Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu that future conversations would run in parallel “with diplomatic talks that would ensure a political transition in Syria”, the Pentagon said.
“He noted that defeating (Islamic State militants) and ensuring a political transition are objectives that need to be pursued at the same time,” the Pentagon said.
The last time a US defence chief spoke with Shoigu was in August 2014, the Pentagon said.
Both Moscow and Washington say their enemy is Islamic State, whose fighters control large parts of Syria.
Washington believes that Assad’s presence is fueling the Syrian crisis, but Russia continues to support its long-time ally.
In London, US secretary of state John Kerry said the United States was looking to “find a common ground” with Russia.
Kerry said it was important to forge a political agreement in Syria and end the hardship of Syrian people.
"Everybody is seized by the urgency. We have been all along but the migration levels and continued destruction, the danger of potential augmentation by any unilateral moves puts a high premium on diplomacy at this moment," he said. – Reuters