Russia and U.S. will restore the memorandum on the prevention of air incidents in Syria
The Chiefs of the General Staff of Russia, Valery Gerasimov, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the United States, Joseph Dunford, discussed the Russian-American memorandum on the prevention of air incidents in Syria on Saturday, May 6. The parties confirmed their readiness to restore its operation in full, reports the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Russian ministry also stressed the intention to work together "on additional measures to prevent conflict situations" in carrying out operations against the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front. The heads of the General Staff also discussed arrangements for the creation of de-escalation zones.
The Pentagon stated that Dunford and Gerasimov “talked about the recent Astana agreement and affirmed their commitment to de-conflicting the operations in Syria." The Chiefs of the General Staffs of Russia and the United States agreed to maintain regular contact.
In 2015, Russia and the United States adopted a memorandum to ensure flight safety over Syria. The document regulates the actions of manned and unmanned aircraft in the airspace over the conflict zone.
In April, in response to the U.S. missile attack on the Shayrat military air base, Russia suspended this memorandum.
The heads of the delegations of Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed on the establishment of de-escalation zones in Syria at the inter-Syrian talks in Astana on May 4. There will be 4 such zones.
Russia reported that it ceased its flights in these zones as early as May 1, and warned that it would not allow flights of U.S. aviation over them. Shortly before the memorandum came into force, the United States said that the agreement concluded in Astana would not affect their operation against the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist group.
The document came into force on May 6; shortly thereafter, new fighting erupted between the Syrian army and the rebels.