Secretary of State John F. Kerry, on a visit to London, disclosed the talks, saying their goal would be to “define some of the different options that are available to us as we consider next steps in Syria”.
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“We would welcome constructive contributions from the Russians to the anti-ISIL coalition“, Earnest said, using an acronym for Islamic State.
A senior Obama offical later addressed the nature of the call.
Russian Federation has been sending about two military cargo flights a day to an air base at Latakia on the government-controlled Syrian coast, US officials say. Defeating the Islamic State and ensuring a political transition should be pursued at the same time, Carter said.
“Rejecting such a possibility, ignoring the capability of the Syrian army as a partner and ally in the fight against the [Islamic State] means sacrificing security of the entire region for political or geopolitical intentions and calculations”, the Russian diplomat said.
The Pentagon acknowledged that such talks might be necessary to avoid “miscalculation”, although it was unclear when or under what conditions they might take place.
“The ministers noted the restoration of military-to-military contacts and agreed to continue consultations“, spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said.
The Friday morning call was initiated by Russian Federation .
The disclosure came hours after the top USA and Russian defense officials spoke on the phone for the first time in more than a year to talk about the crisis in Syria, where Russia is building a military presence.
Facing a manpower problem in the army, the Syrian government has lost ground this year in the northwest, the southwest and the center of the country to an array of groups including Islamic State and other insurgents battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Russian Federation and the US both agree the terrorist group must be stopped, but they have not found common ground on how to do so. They talked about ways to de-escalate the conflict in Syria and fight ISIS, the Pentagon said.
In the conversation, Kerry said he expressed the United States of America disagreement with the aid Russian Federation is providing to the Syrian government.
The Pentagon said Carter and Sergei Shoygu discussed Syria and “areas where the United States and Russia’s perspectives overlap and areas of divergence”.
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Putin has provided vital support to Assad throughout a popular uprising against his regime and as the conflict has metastasised into a brutal civil war that has killed 240,000 people and displaced four million.
