The United States and Russia are to hold air safety talks after it emerged combat aircraft from both nations came within miles of each other at the weekend.

US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter said he expected a deal “soon”.

This comes as Turkey has recently informed Nato that a Russian aircraft entered their airspace last week. Moscow has responded to the incursion stating it was a “navigational error” and that they had “clarified” their position to the Turkish government.

Nato Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg also denounced the action as “unacceptable” and claimed that “Russia’s actions are not contributing to the security and stability of the region”

Another unidentified plane reportedly “harassed” Turkish F-16s patrolling the country’s southern border.

Russia has carried out over 100 air strikes in aid of the Assad regime since the beginning of October, a move criticised by Ankara as a “grave mistake”. Although Russian air strikes are intended to be targeting ISIL it has been noted that the majority of targets are in rebel held areas of Syria with “little or no” Islamic State presence.

Both the US and her allies as well as Russia operate close to 100 aircraft in the region combined, making the need for cooperation on this matter urgent.

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George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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