WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States has no plans to carry out a joint operation with the Russian military to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Daesh jihadist group, a US Defense Department official told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"We are not planning any operations with Russia to jointly liberate Raqqa from Daesh control," the official stated. "In Syria, our focus remains on equipping and enabling local, motivated forces who can take the fight to Daesh."
The US and Russian forces continue to adhere to the flights de-confliction mechanism in Syria after the cessation of hostilities went into effect in the country, a US Defense Department official said.
"We also continue to have limited, tactical discussions with Russia about de-conflicting our respective military efforts in Syria — but those are focused on where not to strike and on de-confliction, and we are not planning any joint operations," the official stated.
