The US Department of Defense spokesman Eric Pahon, commenting on Russia’s Defense Ministry’s statement saying that Russia had received coordinates of the Islamic State positions through a US-Russian communications channel, and that two jets from the US-led coalition took part in an airstrike alongside Russian aircraft in the al-Bab area, has denied sharing targeting information with Russia aimed at coordinating the fight against militant groups active in Syria.
This information is being reported by TASS news agency.
"We are not sharing target info with the Russians," Department of Defense told TASS
As Eric Pahon emhasized, the US Department of Defense maintains a channel of communication with the Russian military focused solely on ensuring the safety of aircrews and de-confliction of Coalition and Russian operations in Syria.
He stressed that US policy has not changed, the US and Russian militaries continue to interact on a limited set of issues, such as the safety of operations for deployed forces. Pahon also added that the Department of Defense suspended military-to-military cooperation with the Russian Armed Forces following Russia's illegal attempted annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, and this restriction is now written into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).