The U.S. is proposing to Russia a plan for managing the battlefield in the main oil-producing region of Syria.
U.S.-backed forces face a complex situation amid Syria's ongoing civil war. They are fighting Daesh but are also in conflict with Syrian forces backed by Russia.
The U.S. sees the area in question as the next major battleground in the evolving coalition campaign to destroy the Daesh.
Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford is declining to describe the proposal in detail. But he says the Russian military is eager to find ways to avoid an armed U.S.-Russian conflict in the area around Deir el-Zour on the Euphrates River.
The proposal comes as President Donald Trump pushes for an accelerated campaign to destroy Daesh militants.
