The United States and Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding that establishes air safety measures so pilots from the two countries steer clear of each other as they conduct separate bombing campaigns. “The memorandum contains a number of rules and restrictions aimed at preventing incidents between American and Russian plans,” Deputy Defense Minister, Anatoly Antonov said, according to Ria-Novosti.

Russia asked for “deconfliction” talks with the United States after Moscow began bombing Syria on September 30. The United States is leading a 60-plus member coalition targeting Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria and has been carrying out frequent raids for more than a year. Russia also claims to be targeting ISIS and other “terrorists” but the Pentagon says it is hitting non-ISIS rebels fighting government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

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Hundreds of thousands of refugees are also attempting the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Greece, hoping to find a better future in Europe.

Four million Syrians have registered or are awaiting registration with the United Nations High Commission of Refugees, who is leading the regional emergency response.

In December 2014, the U.N. issued its largest ever appeal for a single crisis — according to their estimates, $8.4 billion is necessary to meet the needs of all those affected by the crisis, both inside and outside Syria, an increase from last year’s $6.5 billion.