General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, the head of Russia’s General Staff, and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford have stressed the importance of cooperation in order to prevent incidents in Syria during a meeting in Vienna, the Russian Defense Ministry informed on Monday, according to TASS.

“The military chiefs exchanged opinions on the development of the situation in Syria. They stressed the importance of continued cooperation in the area of incident prevention,” a message by the Russian Defense Ministry states.

The sides also discussed the issues of strategic stability and regional security, including those related to missile defense, the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

On January 4, Gerasimov and Dunford had a telephone conversation, during which they discussed the issues of a mutual interest in Syria; however, they chose not to disclose the details of the talks. The Russian Defense Ministry informed that the sides exchanged opinions on the situation in Syria and on the fight against terrorism.