Washington (CNN) The Pentagon has accused Russia of intentionally violating an agreement intended to prevent accidents in the skies over Syria, following a recent unsafe encounter between US F-22s and Russian Su-25 jets. The Pentagon's statement comes just days after Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said it was unclear why the Russians were violating the agreement, which separates Russian and US-led coalition forces operating in Syria. The statement said Trump and Putin "agreed to maintain open military channels of communication between military professionals to help ensure the safety of both US and Russian forces and de-confliction of partnered forces engaged in the fight against ISIS." The agreement says that Russian and Syrian regime forces are to operate west of the Euphrates River while the US and its coalition allies are to operate to the east. Asked if US-led coalition forces could strike ISIS fighters further west of the Euphrates without running afoul of Russian airplanes, Dillon demurred.

Source: CNN December 21, 2017 16:41 UTC