U.S., Russia close to agreement on Syrian war rules

By Jacqueline Klimas, Jacqueline Klimas

Published December 20, 2015

The U.S. is nearing completion of a memorandum of understanding with Russia governing flight safety over Syria, a defense official said Wednesday.

Defense Department representatives spoke with their Russian counterparts for the third time in a video teleconference on Wednesday. Details of the talks were not made available, but a defense official said an agreement could be signed and implemented in the coming days.

Information on what type of deconfliction or communication would be required in the final memo was not immediately available.

A statement from the Russian Defense Ministry said the talks were "constructive" and professional.

"The parties converged in key provisions of the document and agreed in future steps," the statement said.