WASHINGTON, October 9 (RIA Novosti) – The United States has yet to communicate with Russia on any level regarding the growing threat posed by the Islamic State (IS), a senior American defense official said on Wednesday.
"There has been no contact between defense ministers on this issue", US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Derek Chollet told reporters.
"From a defense department perspective, we have ceased all activity with Russia in terms of basic dialogues, discussions and the defense diplomacy," he explained.
The United States recently began piecing together an international coalition in an attempt to contain and dismantle IS. However, the Unites States has not extended invitations to potential strategic partners like Russia and Syria.
IS, a Sunni jihadist extremist group bent on establishing a caliphate in the region, is an al-Qaeda spinoff that has garnered international attention in recent months by securing large swathes of territory in Iraq in addition to kidnapping and beheading four Westerners, including two journalists and two aid workers.
