International security

Top U.S., Russian Military Leaders Meet to Improve Mutual Communication

Today's meeting was the first time Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Russian Army Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, have met face to face. The two military leaders have spoken by phone since Milley took office in October to avoid conflicts in military operations and risks of miscalculations.

''The two military leaders discussed Syria, strategic stability and a variety of operational and strategic issues to enhance deconfliction and improve understanding to reduce risk,'' Joint Staff spokesperson Air Force Col. DeDe S. Halfhill said in a written statement issued after the meeting.

The meeting is the latest in a series that began in February 2017 in Baku, Azerbaijan, between then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford and Gerasimov. Before that, U.S. and Russian military leaders had not met since early 2014 -- before Russia illegally annexed Crimea and intervened in eastern Ukraine. Other meetings have occurred in Turkey, Finland and Austria. This is the first such meeting in Switzerland.