After Trump’s meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it would ramp up cooperation with the U.S. military, but what’s actually happening on the ground is less clear.
The track record for U.S. cooperation with Russia in Syria is varied. Russia backs President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian regime, while the U.S. has supported rebel groups. But there has been some established communication between the former Cold War rivals, to prevent air jet crashes, for example.
We check-in on the conflict in Syria, the current U.S. and Russian involvement and what Trump’s meeting with Putin portends for the situation.
Guests:
Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, he focuses on U.S. national security strategy and counterterrorism policy; he tweets
Aaron Stein, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where one of his specialties is Middle East security