Pentagon says it used military hotline with Russia to communicate about developments in Syria

The U.S. military used its hotline with Moscow to communicate about the developing situation in Syria, Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder said on Monday.

“My understanding is that the CJTFOIR commander has used the hotline that we have with Russia to ensure that we have open lines of communication given the fact that we do have forces operating in fairly close proximity as it relates geographically to Syria,” Ryder told journalists.

He declined to go into further detail about the communications but noted that the hotline exists “to prevent potential miscalculation.”

It’s unclear when the hotline between Washington and Moscow was last used. In 2016, NBC reported that then-U.S. President Barack Obama had used the channel to warn Putin not to interfere in U.S. elections.