The U.S. military is offering to provide Russia with American counter-IED technology to guard against terror attacks during the Olympics.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey held a face-to-face meeting in Brussels on Tuesday with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, where the two talked about the terror threat facing the Olympics in Sochi.
{mosads}Dempsey told The New York Times the Pentagon is willing to give Russia equipment designed to disrupt radio and cellular signals used to remotely detonate improvised explosive devices.
Dempsey said the technology is “something that we’ve become extraordinarily familiar with,” though he cautioned that the two countries had to first make sure U.S. technology could be integrated with Russian communication networks.
“If you’re not careful, you can actually degrade capability, not enhance it,” Dempsey said.
The U.S. military said Monday that it plans to deploy two Navy ships to the Black Sea ahead of the Olympics, which begin in two weeks. The ships would be prepared “for all manner of contingencies,” the Pentagon said.
Recently, militant groups have been publicly threatening to attack Sochi during the Olympics. A video was released that shows two men wearing explosive belts warning Russia to expect a “present” at the Olympics.
Russian officials are also searching for two young Muslim women — known as “black widow” terror suspects — who they believe are planning to attack the end of the Olympic torch relay with suicide bombings, according to NBC News.
Dempsey told the Times that his meeting with the Gerasimov could improve relations between the two militaries at a time when diplomatic U.S.-Russian relations are tense.
“I think we have an opportunity to advance the relationship on areas of common,” Dempsey said.
Gerasimov said ahead of his meeting with Dempsey that “regular contacts” between the two militaries was “quite useful.”