Pentagon Declines to Confirm Russia Included in Anti-Daesh Fight Plan

According to the Pentagon spokesperson, the US Department of Defense has completed the 30-day review of the strategy to defeat Daesh, but refused to confirm that the report included the proposal to cooperate with Russia in Syria.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Department of Defense has completed the 30-day review of the strategy to defeat Daesh (outlawed in Russia) and has submitted the report to the White House, Pentagon spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis said in a briefing on Monday.

"The preliminary plan to defeat ISIS [Daesh] is complete," Davis told reporters. "Diplomacy is a key part of the plan."

The spokesperson noted that Secretary of Defense James Mattis would brief the Principles Committee at the White House on the report's content on Monday afternoon.

At the same time, Pentagon would not confirm that the proposal to cooperate with Russia in Syria has been included in the report on the ways to boost the fight against Daesh, Davis added.

"The report will deal with diplomacy. It talks about the countries that we need to engage with and specific issues we need to talk about with all of them," Davis told reporters.

When asked whether Russia is one of the countries that needs to be engaged, Davis said that "Russia is an active player on the battlefield, particularly in Syria."