Pentagon Chief: US-Russia Dialogue Persists Across Syria Demarcation Line
Russian and US forces have been communicating across the "deconfliction line" in Syria despite glitches, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The deconfliction line runs down the Euphrates River. US-led coalition forces and their Syrian militant allies are positioned on its eastern bank, while Russia-backed government troops control the western bank.
"Never has it gone down, the deconfliction line between us and the Russian forces. Never once have we called, and it not been answered. Never once have they called, and we not answered," US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said during a press gaggle.
He added there had been problems on the demarcation line, but they were resolved. He added there was "no need" for the coalition to go after Islamic State (Daesh) fighters into the government-controlled territories.
Mattis said the Daesh caliphate was "on the run" and its fighters were fleeing west. He confirmed a statement by British General Felix Gedney who said Daesh forces heading west could mount counterattacks on the coalition, saying they attacked every day.
Earlier, the US Defense Department head wrote in an article that Pentagon will work together with Russia to promote mutual interests in Syria, saying that Washington is confident that the UN-led process in Geneva"will produce a Syria that is free of Bashar al-Assad and his family."
Asked at a press gaggle in Washington whether the US plan for Syria was to dismantle it into several different countries, Mattis replied, "No."
Syria has been divided into areas controlled by government troops and those held by militant forces backed by the US-led international coalition, with Kurds commanding vast northern territories.
Mattis also told reporters at the Pentagon when asked whether Syrian government forces could disrupt US plans in Syria that "that would probably be a mistake".
When pressed to elaborate on the remark, Mattis said his comments did not constitute a warning. Rather, he said, the remark reflected the reality on the ground in Syria, where a demarcation line separates the US-led coalition from Russian-backed Syrian government troops.
