Russian, US Military Talks: Concerned Over Syria

The 50-minute conversation marked the first time that American and Russian defense chiefs have spoken in more than a year amid U.S. anger over Russian invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.
Russian, US Military Talks: Concerned Over Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (C) at the meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Sept. 15, 2015. (Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA-Novosti via AP)
The Associated Press
9/18/2015
Updated:
9/18/2015

WASHINGTON—American and Russian military chiefs began talks Friday over Moscow’s buildup in Syria, signaling the U.S. is resigned to Russia’s emerging plans but anxious to avoid dangerous misunderstandings on the battlefield.

A 50-minute phone call between U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Russia Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu marked the first military-to-military conversation between the two countries in more than a year. And it came as Russia continued to send aircraft, troops and military equipment into Syria and the U.S.-led coalition kept up its assault against Islamic State militants.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov broached the idea of direct talks earlier this week in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and Shoigu initiated the call to Carter on Friday.

U.S. officials are increasingly worried that Russia’s plan to defend and support the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad could conflict with coalition airstrikes and other military operations against the Islamic State. The main focus of the phone call, according to a senior defense official, was to talk about how the fight against IS will go forward without miscalculations.

Russia has called for a broad coalition to fight the Islamic State group and has indicated that helping Assad’s military is the best way to do that. However, U.S. policy has centered for the duration of the civil war in Syria on the idea that Assad must step down to make way for a new government. Until recently, Russia had seemed to agree with that policy.

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In the Carter-Shoigu phone conversation, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said, the U.S. defense secretary “emphasized the importance of pursuing such consultations in parallel with diplomatic talks that would ensure a political transition in Syria.”

U.S.-Russian talks about the need for a peaceful political resolution in Syria have been occurring intermittently since 2012. Recent efforts have also included Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. suspended military relations with Russia last year over the Russian invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. It’s not clear if Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or other U.S. military leaders will also reach out to their counterparts.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov issued a statement noting that “the course of the conversation has shown that the sides’ opinions on the majority of issues under consideration are close or coincide. The ministers noted the restoration of contacts between the countries’ defense ministries and agreed to continue consultations. ”

“This (Syria) crisis has got to be solved,” Kerry said before meeting with the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in London.

After his third phone call with Lavrov since Labor Day weekend, Kerry said the Russian proposed talks among the countries’ military leaders “to discuss the issue of precisely what will be done to de-conflict with respect to any potential risks that might be run and have a complete and clear understanding as to the road ahead and what the intentions are.”

“It is vital to avoid misunderstandings, miscalculations (and) not to put ourselves in a predicament where we are supposing something and the supposition is wrong,” Kerry said.

He said Lavrov had told him Russia was interested only in confronting the threat posed by the Islamic State group in Syria but “I am not taking that at face value.”