WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2020) The White House National Security Council (NSC) assesses the incident between the Russian and US troops in northeast Syria to be a violation of the existing deconfliction protocols, NSC spokesman John Ullyot said in statement to Sputnik.
Ullyot explained that at approximately 10:00 a.m. (Syria Time) on Tuesday, a routine security patrol of the US-led Coalition to defeat the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) encountered a Russian military patrol near Dayrick in northeast Syria.
"During this interaction, a Russian vehicle struck a Coalition Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) causing injuries to the vehicle's crew. To de-escalate the situation, the Coalition patrol departed the area," Ullyot said on Wednesday. "Unsafe and unprofessional actions like this represent a breach of deconfliction protocols, committed to by the United States and Russia in December 2019."
Ullyot emphasized that the Coalition and the United States do not seek escalation with any national military forces, however, US troops always retain the inherent right and obligation to defend themselves from hostile acts.
"The international Coalition's mission in northeast Syria is to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS [Islamic State]," he said.
The NSC statement comes after media reported that four US soldiers were wounded during the altercation with Russian troops in northern Syria and have been diagnosed with mild concussion-like symptoms.
Joint Staff spokesperson Col. Dede Halfhill said in statement on Wednesday that US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley held a telephone conversation with Russian Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, however, the details of the call will not be released.
