U.S., Russian Military Officials Meet Amid Concerns About Terrorism Fight
District of Columbia | September 22, 2021
The Pentagon’s top officer met with his Russian counterpart in the Finnish capital Wednesday amid American and allied efforts to find ways to fight terrorism after the departure of U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan last month.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley met here with Chief of Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, officials said. U.S. military officials declined to provide any details of the meeting, except to issue a brief statement saying the two discussed “risk reduction and operational de-confliction.” The U.S. and Russia have in the past discussed how to avoid conflict in Syria, where both countries maintain troops, and in the Black Sea, where both militaries conduct naval patrols. The two sides have also discussed Moscow’s incursion into Crimea and its massing of forces along Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders. But Gen. Milley, on a tour through Europe this week, has been focused on terrorism and countering violent extremism in the region….. (Excerpts from Wall Street Journal)