"I think if there's a way that we can combat ISIS with any country, whether it's Russia or anyone else, and we have a shared national interest in that, sure, we'll take it," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.
Asked if the openness extended to working with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has been condemned internationally for killing civilians, Spicer said, "We're not going to get together with people under the guise of defeating ISIS if that's not truly their guise." He added, "So let's not take that too far."
"I think he has ordered it," Spicer said, adding that Trump would discuss the matter with Mattis during a visit to the Pentagon Friday.
"At that time, he will continue to have conversations about what he wants from them and the joint chiefs," he added, referring to the military service chiefs.
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During the more than two years that President Barack Obama directed US military action against IS in Syria, he resisted Russian overtures to coordinate military action.
With Trump in the White House, Moscow seems eager to draw the new administration into closer military cooperation, perhaps reflecting Trump's frequent statements during the presidential campaign that he welcomed opportunities to improve relations with Moscow.
On Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the U.S. Had provided targeting information for a joint airstrike against Islamic State fighters in Syria. But Pentagon officials flatly denied the Russian assertion.
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