As top Russian and U.S. officials try to hash out a new agreement for combating the Islamic State group in Syria, the Pentagon’s two top officials are emphasizing that they can work with Russia even while not trusting them.
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Speaking today at a press briefing at the Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joe Dunford cautioned that any deal Secretary of State John Kerry came to on coordinating with Russian Federation in Syria would have to include measures that ensured the U.S. retains “operational security”. He said the problem is that Russian Federation is focused mainly on supporting the Syrian government, which he said has had the effect of prolonging the civil war.
Carter said the discussions being led by Secretary of State John Kerry seek to determine whether Russian Federation shares USA goals in Syria, including a political transition away from Assad and the defeat of the Islamic State.
Carter said the Pentagon is looped in on the negotiations and is in constant contact with Kerry as they move forward, but both he and Dunford emphasized that trust is simply not a factor as the discussions move forward.
When a reporter told Carter that he sounded unenthusiastic about the Kerry effort, Carter said, “No, I’m very enthusiastic about the idea of the Russians getting on side and doing the right thing”.
Robert Ford, a former US ambassador to Syria who is now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Reuters that “it’s not clear to me that the Russians can deliver on their side of the deal”. I think we’re a ways from getting that frame of mind in Russian Federation. “This is what Secretary Kerry is exploring”, but the Russians thus far “obviously have been backing [the] regime” of Assad.
So far, the Pentagon has limited its contact with Russia about Syria to de-conflicting the location of US and Russian aircraft.
Kerry’s proposal includes intelligence sharing between Washington and Moscow to coordinate airstrikes against Nusra and prohibit the Syrian air force from attacking moderate rebel groups.
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Dunford denied reports that US -backed opposition forces have coordinated with Nusra in some cases.
