U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov by phone on Tuesday, the Pentagon said. This marks the first communication between U.S. and Russian defense ministers in over a year, with the last contact occurring on March 15, 2023, between Austin and former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The discussion, initiated by the U.S., emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication and addressed the ongoing conflict over Ukraine, according to Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder.
First call between US and Russia defense ministers in a year, but the first between Austin and his new Russian counterpart https://t.co/D6fVigEzf4
Pentagon chief, Russian defense minister discuss open lines of communication https://t.co/wJTXf00SC3 https://t.co/F3P9PFOIds
🔵 PENTAGON CHIEF, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER DISCUSS OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov by phone on Tuesday and discussed the importance of open lines of communication, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.… https://t.co/mJotOEIeci
The conversation between Austin and Belousov was initiated by the US, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said. The last contact between the Russian and US defense ministers was on March 15 of last year, Ryder said. https://t.co/NO4N9SSjZ6 https://t.co/gU6WYmt3mB
U.S. Defense Secretary Austin spoke with his Russian counterpart Andrei Belousov by phone earlier today, the Pentagon says https://t.co/64i30vXHC9
❗️ US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, discussed the conflict over Ukraine and emphasized the importance of maintaining communications between the US and Russian militaries, Pentagon said.
🇺🇸🙄 Lloyd Austin spoke for the first time since March 2023 with the Russian Defence Minister, - Pentagon https://t.co/dOl7PsfuCX
US Defense Secretary Austin and Russian Defense Minister Belousov spoke on the phone
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with the new Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov for first time today. The last time Secretary Austin spoke with his Russian counterpart was more than a year ago on March 15th 2023 & it was with fmr Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
⚠️ U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN SPOKE WITH HIS RUSSIAN COUNTERPART BY PHONE-PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON
U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN SPOKE WITH HIS RUSSIAN COUNTERPART BY PHONE-PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON