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Pentagon considers US-Russia deconfliction line effective

The Defense Ministry earlier reported that Russia would suspend the memorandum on preventing flight incidents and air safety support during military operations in Syria

© © REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

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Russia cuts deconfliction channel with Washington after US downs Syrian jet

WASHINGTON, June 19. /TASS/. The US considers the interaction between Russian and US defense ministries for preventing conflicts in Syria’s airspace as an effective mechanism and is confident that the coalition can always communicate with the Russian side to ensure the safety of aircrews and operations, a spokesman for Inherent Resolve (a military operation conducted in Iraq and Syria by a group of countries led by the US) told TASS on Monday.

"We've seen the same press reports regarding Russian statements on de-confliction in Syria. The Coalition is always available to de-conflict with the Russians to ensure the safety of Coalition aircrews and operations. The de-confliction line has proven effective at mitigating strategic miscalculations and de-escalating tense situations," he noted.

US aircraft

The US has re-positioned aircraft over Syria as a safety measure following the recent incidents with the pro-government and Russian armed forces:

"Coalition aircraft continue to conduct operations throughout Syria, targeting ISIS (Islamic State, a terror organization outlawed in Russia - TASS) forces and providing air support for Coalition partner forces on the ground. As a result of recent encounters involving pro-Syrian Regime and Russian forces, we have taken prudent measures to re-position aircraft over Syria so as to continue targeting ISIS forces while ensuring the safety of our aircrew given known threats in the battlespace," the source said.

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier reported that starting from June 19 Russia would suspend the memorandum on preventing flight incidents and air safety support during military operations in Syria. These steps followed the coalition’s decision to shoot down a Syrian warplane near Raqqa.

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