The presidents of the U.S. and Russia have approved a joint statement on Syria, agreeing that "there is no military solution to the conflict."
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin approved the statement on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Vietnam. Russian officials said Putin and Trump had a conversation before the group photo ceremony for APEC leaders in Danang.
In the statement the two world leaders repeated the urgency of destroying the Islamic State and agreed "to maintain open military channels of communication between military professionals to help ensure the safety of both U.S. and Russian forces," as well as to prevent dangerous incidents involving the forces of allies fighting the Islamic State.
Trump and Putin confirmed their commitment to Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and also called on the parties involved in the Syrian conflict to use the Geneva process to find a resolution.
The statement was released by the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, which said the document had been drafted by experts from Russia and the United States and coordinated by Russian Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.