Russian President Vladimir Putin is asking President Obama for more cooperation in 2016, reported the Associated Press. “The outgoing year has shown that relations between Russia and the United States are one of the key factors of international security,” Putin said in his message to Obama, according to the Kremlin. Putin also “expressed confidence that as [the US and Russia] build a constructive dialogue and cooperation taking into account each other’s interests, Russia and the US would efficiently resist all new threats and challenges and help resolve crises in different parts of the world,” the Kremlin release stated. Obama and other top US officials have repeatedly said they are willing to partner with Russia? if the country changes its focus in Syria from supporting the regime of Bashar al Assad to fighting ISIS.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
