The Chiefs of Staff of the United States and Russia meet today in Vienna. Joseph Dunford and Valeri Gerasimov want to discuss further steps in Syria. „The two military leaders will discuss measures to ensure that military operations in Syria by Russia and by the international coalition (anti-IS coalition, Note) do not conflict with each other,“ it said.
US President Donald Trump announced in December that he would withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria, saying that IS was defeated there. Lastly, it was said that hundreds of soldiers were still to be deployed in the Civil War country to protect the Kurdish fighters who support the US in the fight against ISIS. Critics warned that the Syrian Kurds would otherwise be exposed to an attack by Turkey without the US troops.
Also INF contract topic
Against this backdrop, the US wants to put together an international force with its Western allies. This is to stabilize the area in Syria, which is not controlled by the regime of the ruler Bashar al-Assad, after the final conquest of the IS and there to ensure order.
The deliberations in Vienna will also deal with the state of military relations between Russia and the USA. A spokesman Dunfords referred to the INF contract. The 1987 INF Treaty prohibits land-based missiles and cruise missiles with a mean range between 500 and 5,500 kilometers that can carry nuclear warheads. The US and Russia accuse each other of violating the agreement and terminated it at the beginning of February. If both sides do not agree on receipt, the agreement expires automatically after a six-month period in early August.
