Moscow seeks new US military cooperation

Russia called on Friday for Washington to restart direct military-to-military cooperation to avert "unintended incidents" near Syria, at a time when US officials say Moscow is building up forces to protect President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The United States is leading a campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Syrian airspace, and a greater Russian presence would raise the prospect of the Cold War superpower foes encountering each other on the battlefield.

Both Moscow and Washington say their enemy is Islamic State. But Russia supports the government of Assad, while the United States says his presence makes the situation worse.