The U.S. Department of Defense states that “Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, with an eye to improving the military-to-military relations between the two nations.”

According to the report, the two discussed Afghanistan, Sochi,  and history. On Sochi: “The Russian military is working in support of civilian security organizations, and Dempsey heard Gerasimov’s assessment of the task. The Russian armed forces are bringing unique military capabilities to the effort, he said, including air defense, the maritime domain, chemical and biological defense, backup medical support for civilian authorities, management of the electronic spectrum and electronic warfare and the like.”

Said Dempsey: “I reiterated the fact that we would favorably consider requests from them.”