Kathmandu, 22 October: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke for the first time since May on Friday and a top Russian diplomat said the call was needed to eliminate misunderstandings, TASS news agency reported.
The Pentagon declined to offer specifics beyond saying that Austin, who initiated the conversation, emphasized a need for lines of communication amid the war in Ukraine.”Misunderstandings must be cleared up so that there are no accidents … these are always important contacts, and it’s important the Americans were the first to go for it,” TASS quoted Vienna-based Russian diplomat Konstantin Gavrilov as telling Russian television.
Gavrilov, a senior security negotiator, also said that in the wake of the call Moscow expected clarification about nuclear deterrence exercises that NATO is carrying out, TASS added. (Reuters)
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