Before the meeting, which took place on Iran’s initiative, the Russian defence ministry said the officials would be discussing “reinforcing cooperation in the fight with ISIL and al-Nusra terrorist groups”.
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A USA official in Washington, requesting anonymity, on Thursday accused Russian Federation of bombing US-backed fighters in southern Syria.
Russia’s military intervention in Syria in September helped to turn the tide of war in Assad’s favour after months of gains in western Syria by rebel fighters, who were aided by foreign military supplies including US-made anti-tank missiles.
On a conciliatory note, he added that Saturday’s video conference with the Pentagon was “constructive”, reflecting a shared desire “to improve coordination in fighting terrorist organizations in Syria and avoid incidents while conducting military operations there”.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov also rejected on Sunday the Pentagon’s accusations that it had deliberately targeted US-backed militants in Syria.
The Russian leader also welcomed what he called a US proposal to “think about incorporating some opposition representatives in the existing government structures, including the Cabinet”, AP reported.
A senior USA official told Voice of America News that Russian aircraft have “dropped bombs on rebels battling Islamic State in southern Syria, including those supported by the United States”.
The Defense Ministry said Saturday that Sergei Shoigu met with Russian pilots and visited their quarters at the Hemeimeem air base.
The video conference was held as part of bilateral communications channels meant to prevent incidents in the crowded skies over Syria.
Such a threat, the officials argued, “would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed USA -led diplomatic process”. Simultaneously, Secretary of State John Kerry’s attempts to resolve the bloody civil war through political or diplomatic means have crumbled.
Images released Friday by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that has monitored the conflict since its start, reportedly show the aftermath of the strikes on the base at At-Tanf, a town near the borders of Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
Since a year ago, American and Russian warplanes have shared the skies over Syria while supporting different sides in the civil war.
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Russia’s defense minister has visited the Russian military base in Syria. In November, a Russian jet was shot down by Turkey after crossing from Syrian into Turkish airspace despite several warnings.
