Today senior officials from the Department of Defense and the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding measures to minimize the risk of inflight incidents among coalition and Russian aircraft operating in Syrian air space. With today's signatures the MOU is now in effect. 

The MOU includes specific safety protocols for aircrews to follow. These protocols include maintaining professional airmanship at all times, the use of specific communication frequencies and the establishment of a communication line on the ground. The U.S and Russia will form a working group to discuss any implementation issues.

The MOU does not establish zones of cooperation, intelligence sharing or any sharing of target information in Syria. The discussions through which this MOU was developed do not constitute U.S. cooperation or support for Russia's policy or actions in Syria.