WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — On Thursday, Russian and US militay officials held first deconfliction talks about their respective activities in the Syrian airspace.
"We have got to build up some mutual trust and confidence there, this is a good start, but we have a long way to go," Tillis said of the military-to-military talks on Thursday.
Russia began conducting airstrikes on Wednesday against Islamic State targets on the invitation of the Syrian government.
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ordered his staff to begin talks with Russia on deconfliction in Syria, to avoid unintended encounters between the two nations’ militaries.
The United States and more than a dozen of its allies have committed aircraft to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
