Obama phones Putin but doesn’t bring up jets buzzing US ship

President Obama spoke by phone on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a series of thorny international issues.  

But Obama did not raise the issue of Russian military jets buzzing a U.S. Navy ship last week in the Baltic Sea.

{mosads}The two leaders had a “rather intense discussion” about the civil war in Syria and Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, according to White House press secretary Josh Earnest. 

“That did not come up in the call between the two presidents,” Earnest said when asked about the jets. Such incidents are “destabilizing” but “not particularly unusual,” he added. 

Two Russian planes took several low passes over the USS Donald Cook, raising eyebrows in the U.S. and prompting new concerns about Russian aggression. 

An American military defense attaché in Moscow last week registered a formal complaint with Moscow.  

The leaders spoke amid a new round of peace talks between the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and opposition groups. 

But the U.N.-sponsored talks in Geneva have shown signs of collapse.   

Mohammed Alloush, a top opposition negotiator, said Monday the talks have “hit a wall” and that his coalition will postpone its participation in the talks, citing the Assad government’s violation of an agreement to cease hostilities that went into place in February. 

Russia is a chief ally of Assad’s and the Obama administration has insisted the Syrian leader step aside through a negotiated political transition.

Both Obama and Putin agreed, however, to take steps to ensure both sides abide by the cessation of hostilities deal, the White House and Kremlin said in separate statements.