Russian and US military officials are increasingly communicating about operations in Syria -- and doing so at a higher level -- as both countries wage separate but overlapping campaigns, a US general said Wednesday.

 

Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command, said generals from both militaries are now using a special "deconfliction" hotline to avoid mishaps.

 

The hotline, which had initially been staffed by lower-ranking officers, was established in late 2015 after Russia entered the Syrian war to prop up the regime of President Bashar Assad.

 

Russia and the US-led coalition regularly use the hotline to make sure each side is apprised of where planes and ground forces are located.

 

The hotline has become ever more vital as Assad's forces have won victories over rebels in western Syria.

 

They are now focusing more toward the east, approaching areas where the US-led coalition that is fighting the Islamic State group is operating.

 

"We have had to increase the amount of deconfliction work we're doing with the Russians, given the tighter airspace that we're now working ourselves through," Harrigian said. 

 

Both sides want to avoid any accidents in the skies, or inadvertently striking the wrong ground forces.

 

"We ensure that as we prosecute the fight against the enemy, the Russians, while we don't give them specifics, we make sure we note where we're going to operate," Harrigian said.

 

He added the coalition has been establishing various movable "deconfliction zones" around Syria that aim to ensure Russia tells US officials if they are planning operations in those locations.