WASHINGTON. June 19 (Interfax) - The United States has decided to re-position the international coalition's aircraft in Syria, U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Adrian Rankine-Galloway said.
"As a result of recent encounters involving pro-Syrian Regime and Russian forces, we have taken prudent measures to re-position aircraft over Syria so as to continue targeting ISIS [a terrorist organization banned in Russia] forces while ensuring the safety of our aircrew given known threats in the battlespace," Rankine-Galloway said in an interview with Interfax.
The Pentagon spokesman refrained from directly answering Interfax's request on commenting on Russia's decision to suspend the effect of the Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Flight Safety Incidents in the course of operations in Syrian airspace. "The U.S. is always available to de-conflict with the Russians to ensure the safety of Coalition aircrews and operations," he said.
"The de-confliction line has proven effective at mitigating strategic miscalculations and de-escalating tense situations," Rankine-Galloway said.