US and Russia poised to sign air safety agreement over Syria in coming days
Putin launched military campaign to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, claiming to strike Islamic State and other “terrorists”.
The United States and Russia could soon sign a pact establishing safety protocols in the skies above Syria as both powers carry out separate bombing campaigns, a US defence official said Wednesday.
“We are nearing completion of a memorandum of agreement that would set up procedures to enhance air safety,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It could be signed and implemented in the coming days.”
The official's comments came shortly after Russia and the United States held a third round of video talks to decide rules so pilots don't inadvertently fly into each other.
There's always going to be some risk if there are uncoordinated actors in the battle space
“Progress was made during the discussions, which were professional and focused narrowly on the implementation of specific safety procedures,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said.
The US-led coalition has for more than a year been conducting regular drone and plane strikes in Syria and Iraq, targeting the Islamic State group.
That mission got much more complex on September 30, when Russia launched its own military campaign to support President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow claims it is striking IS and other “terrorists”.
Further complicating matters, Russia last week fired cruise missiles into Syria from the Caspian Sea.
