The Pentagon will start "deconfliction" talks with the Russian military Thursday to discuss ways to avoid mishaps between planes from the US-led coalition and Moscow, a defense official said.

"This is the start of the deconfliction talks," the defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The talks will begin at 11:00 am (1500 GMT) via video conference and will include Elissa Slotkin, the US acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.