A Russian proposal to send Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to the US to discuss military cooperation on Syria is a sign of "desperation," the White House said Wednesday, according to dpa. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed sending Medvedev to the US, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Washington and Moscow have been in talks to avoid unintended clashes between their militaries as they conduct separate air campaigns over Syria, but Washington has dismissed any talk of coordinating operations as long as Russia is supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. "We're not interested in doing that, as long as Russia is not willing to make a constructive contribution to our counter-[Islamic State] effort," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "Russia has their own agenda, and it's an agenda right now that they're pursuing on their own. So it's not particularly surprising to me that President Putin would resort, in some desperation, to try to send the second-highest ranking official in the Russian government to the United States to try to convince us to join them."
