负责美军在中东地区空中行动的指挥官说，随着伊斯兰国所占据地区周围空域变得更加拥挤，美国和俄罗斯通过建立的军事热线进行了更多沟通。
美国空军中将杰弗里·哈利吉安星期三对记者说，“鉴于我们使用的空域趋紧，我们已经增加了与俄罗斯人之间消除冲突的空中热线的使用数量。”
这条沟通热线是俄罗斯和美国几个月前设立的，以避免在叙利亚领空发生事故和误判。伊斯兰国已经从最高峰时在伊拉克和叙利亚的大约3万名武装人员，减少到目前估计的不足1万5千人。
哈利吉安证实，美国已经在叙利亚境内美军人员周围建立了安全区。他补充说，俄罗斯在这些区域内的活动仅限于保护美军和美国支持的武装。
The commander in charge of U.S. air operations in the Middle East says the United States and Russia have communicated more via an established military hotline as the air space around Islamic State territory in Syria has become more crowed.
"We have had to increase the amount of deconfliction work we are doing with the Russians, given the tighter airspace that we are now working ourselves through," Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian told reporters Wednesday.
The communication hotline was created between Russia and the U.S. several months ago to avoid potential mishaps and misunderstandings in the sky over Syria. Islamic State has been reduced from its peak of about 30,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria to current estimates of fewer than 15,000.
Harrigian confirmed the U.S. has established deconfliction zones around U.S. military personnel inside Syria, adding that Russian movement within these areas is restricted to protect American and U.S.-backed forces.
