General Hodges: US Seeks to ‘Absolutely Keep Door Open With Russia’

There are a number of ways for likely cooperation between the United States and Russia as Washington seeks to avoid conflict with Moscow, the US Army Europe commanding general Ben Hodges said at a conference on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Ben Hodges indicated on Tuesday at a conference hosted by the Association of the US Army the focal points of potential cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

"We absolutely want to keep the door open with Russia," Hodges said. "Nobody wants to get in any type of kinetic conflict with them. It is entirely possible to cooperate."

Hodges said two areas of concern the United States and Russia can cooperate are in joining efforts to tackle Islamic extremism as well as human and drug trafficking.

"Russia has bigger challenge with Islamic extremism than we do. They are a constant threat; this is an area where we can clearly cooperate," Hodges said.

Moreover, Hodges claimed the realities of climate change and navigation make the Arctic region an area where the two countries must cooperate.

"The Arctic is an area where we will have to cooperate. With climate change and increased navigation across the top of the world, we will have to cooperate," he added.

The conference dubbed "Achieving Deterrence in Europe Through Land Power Dominance" focused on enhanced cooperation among partner states to combat foreign aggression, maintain regional strength and advance common interests.

The Association of the US Army is a non-profit organization that acts primarily as an advocacy group for the military branch. The association was founded in 1950 and has 119 chapters worldwide.