US and Russia Reach Agreement over Syria Air Safety

Russia and the United States cinched an agreement Tuesday to steer clear of each other's aircraft over Syria.

The countries say the memorandum will lock in safety guidelines to avoid collisions between U.S. and Russian aircraft, including drones.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said the agreement is “of great practical importance.”

“The memorandum contains a number of rules and restrictions aimed at preventing incidents between American and Russian planes,” he stated, according to Russia's Ria Novosti news agency.

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​The memorandum also opens “a line of communication on the ground that serves as a backup” if standard communications between U.S. and Russian authorities fail, a Pentagon spokesperson explained.

While the Pentagon said the memorandum also includes provisions to form a bilateral working group to resolve any “implementation issues,” the U.S. Department of State has said the deal won't lead to broader cooperation between the two countries.

“It's not a treaty of cooperation or anything like that,” said State Department Spokesperson John Kirby. “It doesn't connote cooperation or coordination or joint targeting.”

The United States has been conducting airstrikes in Syria since September 2014. Russia began a separate campaign a year later.

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