Top general holds talks with Russian officer

HELSINKI, FINLAND » The top American military officer held talks Wednesday with his Russian counterpart as the United States struggles to secure basing rights and other counterterrorism support in countries bordering Afghanistan — an effort Moscow has opposed.

The six-hour meeting was between Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff.

Without troops on the ground in Afghanistan, the U.S. needs to reach more intelligence sharing and other agreements to help monitor al-Qaida and IS militants.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, had said in July that Moscow warned the U.S. that any deployment of American troops in countries neighboring Afghanistan “is unacceptable.” He said Russia told the U.S. “that it would change a lot of things not only in our perceptions of what’s going on in that important region, but also in our relations with the United States.”