Pentagon head speaks with Russian counterpart for first time in a year

U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Russia’s protection minister — the primary such dialog in 15 months.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder introduced the decision in a briefing Tuesday, saying Austin initiated the dialogue.

“The secretary emphasised the significance of sustaining traces of communication amid Russia’s ongoing battle in opposition to Ukraine,” Ryder mentioned.

Russia has blamed the U.S. for an assault on Crimea — a Ukrainian peninsula Moscow seized in 2014 — wherein Ukraine used ATACMS missiles provided by America. Nonetheless thought of Ukrainian territory below worldwide regulation, Crimea is an exception to a U.S. coverage that bans Ukraine from taking pictures long-range weapons into Russia.

This week the Russian Overseas Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy for a scolding over the assault, which killed a minimum of 4 and left greater than 150 injured.

“Retaliatory measures are sure to comply with,” the ministry mentioned in a put up on Telegram.

The final time Austin spoke with Russia’s protection minister — then Sergei Shoigu — was March 15, 2023. In accordance with a Pentagon readout, the 2 mentioned “unprofessional, harmful, and reckless habits by the Russian air drive in worldwide airspace over the Black Sea.”

A day earlier than, a Russian jet had crashed into an American surveillance drone, forcing it down over worldwide waters.

Andrei Belousov, the brand new protection minister, was appointed this Might in a significant shakeup inside the Kremlin. Belousov is an economist by coaching, and his ascendance partly displays Russia’s skill to handle its protection business two years into the full-scale battle in Ukraine.

That is the primary time Belousov and Austin have spoken. The U.S. treats any conversations with Russia as extraordinarily delicate, and Ryder wouldn’t reply questions on how lengthy the decision lasted, why it occurred and the state of U.S.-Russia communication.