WASHINGTON, July 29. /TASS/. The United States will continue to maintain contact with Russia on operations in Syrian airspace, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said.

"We’ll continue to engage using the established channels to convey our concern and will continue to engage senior leadership as appropriate. But again, we will continue to operate as we have always operated in the airspaces and we will protect our interests and our resources," Austin said following the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN), which also involved US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Earlier, media outlets reported that Russian fighter jets had allegedly conducted dangerous maneuvers close to the United States’ MQ-9 Reaper drones involved in operations against the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) in Syria.