Russian and American troops face off in eastern Syria

While the world is focused inward on the coronavirus pandemic, little is reported of what is going on in Syria. So it's worth saying that the US troops still operating in eastern Syria, supposedly dealing with the remnants of Isis, are coming into daily contact with Russian troops. Contact, not conflict. They have developed a wary form of communication to make sure nothing either side does leads to confrontation. It's a bizarre ritual. They are all in the same region of Syria watching each other going about their business but keeping respectfully apart. I find that somehow encouraging. Of course the last thing the world needs right now is a bloody battle between US and Russian troops anywhere, let alone Syria. And both Moscow and Washington are fully cognisant of that, and so instructions have been put out that under no circumstances are there to be clashes in eastern Syria. And, mostly, it has worked. There have been some awkward, potentially inflammatory moments but they have been pretty rare. It was the same when US and Russian fighter pilots were operating a deconfliction regime in the air over Syria during the US bombing campaign against Isis. There were one or two nasty near-miss occasions but on the whole the system worked well. There are around 500 US troops still in Syria and at some point Trump, especially if he is reelected, will have another go at withdrawing them. Isis is a defeated force in Syria. Those militants left behind have no stronghold, they don't own territory and survive in small pockets blending in with the local population. But the presence of US troops and the knowledge that air power can be called in hopefully provides a sufficient deterrent to begin any meaningful assaults. So while the US soldiers bide their time and guard their bit of territory they keep a sharp eye on the Ruskies as they come and go not far away.