US to Continue Engagement with Russia: Pentagon Chief on Syria

The United States will continue to collaborate with Russia regarding operations in Syrian airspace. This announcement was made by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin after the annual AUSMIN talks in Australia.

"We will continue to engage using existing channels to express our concerns. We will also continue to work as appropriate with senior leadership. But let me reiterate that we will continue to operate in the airspace as we always have, and we will protect our interests as permitted by our capabilities," he stated.

Earlier, the deputy head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in the Arab Republic, Vice Admiral Oleg Gurinov, reported that an MQ-9 drone of the US-led coalition dangerously approached a Russian Aerospace Forces Su-34 aircraft in Syria's Raqqa province.