Washington: The US and Russian militaries are finalising a memorandum of understanding that sets out basic air safety procedures in the skies above Syria, a US official said after the latest round of talks between the former Cold War foes on Wednesday.
Russia's entry into Syria's civil war has stoked concerns about an accident between US and Russia jets. The Pentagon has cited cases in which Russia aircraft came within miles of drones and piloted US fighter jets.
The United States has said it will not alter its air operations against Islamic State in Syria or cooperate with Moscow, given Russia's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
It has instead limited military contacts with Moscow to basic air safety, holding a third round of talks on Wednesday.
The Pentagon said in a short statement that the secure-video conference with Russian defence officials had led to progress in discussions aimed at promoting safe air operations over Syria. It offered no further details.
The US official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the memorandum of understanding could be implemented in the near future, after follow-on review.
US proposals, first outlined during a secure video conference between the US and Russian militaries on October 1, include maintaining a safe distance between US and Russian aircraft and using common radio frequencies for distress calls.
The US military says Russian aircraft have repeatedly broken air patrols and come close to unmanned, American drone aircraft. The Pentagon on Tuesday also disclosed that US and Russian aircraft came within visual identification range on Saturday.
Russia's state ITAR-TASS news agency quoted the defence ministry on Wednesday as saying the Russian SU-30CM jet was within 2-3 km of the US plane, but came close to identify it, "not to scare it."
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter slammed Russia on Wednesday for what he called "unprofessional behaviour."
Carter said Russia's support for Assad showed it was not serious about fighting Islamic State and that Moscow's actions would fan the war.
"We have not, for our part, and will not agree, to cooperate with Russia as long as they continue to pursue a misguided strategy," Carter told a gathering of US Army leaders in Washington.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States had declined to send a high-level military delegation to Moscow to discuss deeper coordination in fighting in Syria, as had been proposed by Moscow.
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