Votel: No new orders on operating with Russia after Helsinki meeting

America's chief military commander in the Middle East says he has been given no new guidance on operating with the Russian military following President Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"For us right now, it’s kinda steady as she goes," U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel told reporters in a Pentagon video briefing from command headquarters in Tampa, FL.

"No new guidance for me as a result of the Helsinki discussions as of yet," he said. "I am not privy to any grand bargain."

Votel's comments come after a joint press conference Trump held with Putin on Monday in Helsinki, Finland, in which Trump said the United States and Russia could begin new military coordination in Southern Syria to protect Israel from Iranian military operations.

Russia's defense spokesman on Tuesday said Russia is ready to "to intensify contacts with its American colleagues through the General Staff and other available channels of communication."

Votel, however, noted today that the U.S. military is prohibited from operating directly with Russian forces under a law passed shortly after Russia annexed Crimea.

"The [Fiscal Year 2016] National Defense Authorization Act, as a law, prohibits us from coordinating, synchronizing collaborating with Russian Forces," Votel said. "Any space would have to be created by Congress or a waiver that they would approve to allow us to do something like that. I have not asked for that at this point, and we'll see what direction comes down."