US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine as he spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Friday, the first conversation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said.
Austin has tried several times to reach Shoigu since the invasion began nearly three months ago, but officials said Moscow seemed uninterested.
Austin stressed the importance of maintaining lines of communication, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the call, which Austin requested, lasted about an hour but did not resolve any specific issues or bring about direct changes to what the Russians are doing in Ukraine.
The officer described the tone of the call as “professional”.
Russian news agency TASS quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying the call came “on the initiative of the American side”. “Current international security issues were discussed, including the situation in Ukraine,” TASS said, citing the ministry.
The United States and Russia have established a hotline since the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, to avoid miscalculations and any escalation of the conflict.
The “Disconflict” hotline is an open telephone line based at European Command headquarters and is operated by Air Force General Tod Wolters, who leads all US forces in Europe.
Since the war began, the United States has sent about $3.8 billion worth of weapons, and earlier this week, the US House of Representatives approved more than $40 billion more in aid to Ukraine. The Senate has not yet approved the measure.
The war killed thousands of civilians, forced millions from their homes and reduced cities to rubble. Moscow has little to show for it beyond a swath of territory in the south and marginal gains in eastern Ukraine, including the Donbass region.
Source: CNN Brasil
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