| Follow us on:
|
![After the meeting with President of the United States Barack Obama. With Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov (left) and US Secretary of State John Kerry in New York on 2 September 2015 [PPIO]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/T6QfEdjUi6tD7Ie06XANhUmhBBhjr9kN.jpg)
After the meeting with President of the United States Barack Obama. With Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov (left) and US Secretary of State John Kerry in New York on 2 September 2015 [PPIO]
The MOU does not establish zones of cooperation, intelligence sharing or any sharing of target information in Syria, Peter Cook said.
The Russian Defense Ministry last week forwarded a set of air safety draft proposals to the Pentagon.
“The discussions through which this MOU was developed do not constitute U.S. cooperation or support for Russia’s policy or actions in Syria,” he said. “We continue to believe that Russia’s strategy in Syria is counterproductive and their support for the Assad regime will only make Syria’s civil war worse.”
The MOU included specific protocols for air crews to follow, plus the creation of a ground communications link between the two sides in the event air communications fail, said Cook.
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday confirmed receiving a memorandum approved by the Pentagon “on preventing air incidents in Syria”, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday.
“We undoubtedly consider the signing of such a document as an important step of practical significance,” the Russian spokesman said.
United States and Russia will form a working group to discuss any implementation issues that follow, according to the Pentagon.
The international US-led coalition began airstrikes in Syria as part of an anti-terror campaign in September 2014 without the consent of the Syrian government.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday the presence of various aircrafts in Syria’s airspace has increased noticeably and up to 30 aircrafts may be present simultaneously in one area, which considerably increases flight safety risks.
“Of late, the presence of various aircraft in the airspace over Syria increased considerably. There are military transport planes, combat aircraft and drones of various size, including attack drones,” he said.
Since September 2015, Russian jets started air strikes against terrorist targets in Syria at the request of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia says its aerial bombardment campaign against Islamist extremist forces in Syria has destroyed munition dumps and a large number of heavy vehicles belong to the ISIS and other militia groups.
Washington’s refusal to hold a direct dialogue of a Syrian political settlement stems from a “weakness of the American position”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
“I do not really understand how our American partners can criticise Russia’s actions in Syria to combat international terrorism if they are refusing to have a direct dialogue in such an important area as political settlement. I believe this stand is not constructive and the weakness of the American position in this case is probably based on the absence of any agenda on these issues,” Putin told journalists in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan during an official visit.
The Russian President added although “it seems as though there is nothing to talk about”, but Moscow “nevertheless leave the doors open and strongly hope for a constructive dialogue with all the participants in this complicated process, including our American partners”.
TBP and Agencies
