Russian and US forces in Syria share a ‘rare moment’ of kindness

US and Russian forces exchanged friendly greetings and posed for pictures together on a highway in northeastern Syria over the weekend.

Both Washington and Moscow have troops on the ground in Syria to help the other side of the war that has devastated the Middle Eastern country since 2011.

Russia’s war in Ukraine since February has exacerbated geopolitical tensions with the United States.

But on Saturday morning, US and Russian patrol routes crossed at an oil field near the town of Kahataniya in northeastern Hasakeh province, according to an AFP correspondent.

It wasn’t the first time they had crossed paths in Kurdish-held areas, but instead of passing each other, the convoy stopped and the soldiers stood side by side, talking and taking pictures. .

Some armies exchanged small patches worn on their uniforms as a moment of interaction.

Syria expert Samuel Ramani said it was a “very rare moment” and a sign that “Russia and the US still want the conflict in Syria to end.”

Washington, a staunch opponent of the Syrian regime, first deployed troops to northeast Syria in 2014 as part of a coalition to fight the Islamic State group.

The Russian military, which has supported the government of President Bashar al-Assad since 2015, did not deploy troops to the northeast until 2019 following Turkish aggression against Kurdish fighters.

Dispute resolution channels have been in place since 2015 to prevent clashes between Russia and the United States.

The Russian military presence also helped US forces avoid a confrontation with Syrian regime forces.