MOSCOW, January 5. /TASS/. The chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, and chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford, discussed the situation in Syria in a telephone conversation on Friday, the Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"On January 4, there was a telephone conversation between the chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov and chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford. The two men exchanged opinion of the situation in Syria and struggle against terrorism and discussed other crucial issues of mutual interest," the Defense Ministry said. "The sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining the existing channel of communication".