By Jim Garamone, DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is
meeting with his Russian counterpart in Helsinki tomorrow to discuss operations
in Syria and other matters.
It will be the third face-to-face meeting between Marine
Corps Gen. Joe Dunford and Gen. Valery Gerasimov of the Russian army, chief of
the general staff of the Russian armed forces.
“The two military leaders will discuss the deconfliction of
coalition and Russian operations in Syria and exchange views on the state of
U.S.-Russia military relations and the current international security situation
in Europe and other key regions,” Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder said in a
written statement announcing the meeting.
Previous Meetings
Dunford first met with Gerasimov Feb. 17, 2017, in Baku,
Azerbaijan. The two met again a month later in Antalya, Turkey, in a meeting
hosted by Turkish chief of defense Gen. Hulusi Akar. Both meetings were
centered on deconfliction of Russian and coalition operations in Syria. The
lines of communication must remain open, Joint Staff officials said at the
time, to ensure mistakes and miscalculations do not happen.
The meeting in Finland does not portend increased military
cooperation between the United States and Russia, Joint Staff officials said.
Russian actions in Georgia – where it invaded and still occupies the provinces
of Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- and its annexation of the Ukraine province of
Crimea make any cooperation between the two countries impossible, officials
said. Russia also has troops in Eastern Ukraine and continues to foment unrest
in the country.
Russia deployed forces to Syria in September 2015 and
succeeded in propping up the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. They
continue to operate there.
Earlier today, Dunford met with his Finnish counterpart,
Gen. Jarmo Lindberg, to discuss mutual security interests.
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