come. he was reporting -- he says it will be a setback for the fighters supporting the assad regime. now, russia in the mix. it continues air assault against isis targets inside syria. its defense officials and the u.s. have been talking about safe flight operations. the pentagon said progress was made during saturday's 90-minute video conference. there has been concern over keeping coalition planes safe from russian fighter jets. to talk more about this, ian lee on the ground in cairo, egypt. ian, good to have you with us. what more can you tell us about the conversations between united states and russia? >> reporter: george, this conversation was described as professional and narrowly focused discussing air safety over syria. we're hearing from russian state