Pentagon chief calls Ukrainian counterpart to update on his conversation with Russian defense minister

Europe, News, US May 17, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held phone talks with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on May 15, the Pentagon’s Press Secretary John F. Kirby informed the press.

During the phone call, the two defense ministers discussed the ongoing situation of the Ukraine war. The U.S. Defense Secretary updated the Ukrainian Minister of Defense about his breakthrough telephonic conversation with the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The call between Lloyd Austin and Sergei Shoigu was held on May 13, in which the U.S. Defense Secretary urged Russia to immediately end the conflict in Ukraine and empathized on the importance of keeping the communication lines open for discussion.

It was the first time that Russian and U.S. defense officials spoke to each other since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022. According to a senior U.S. defense official, the call to Russian Defense Ministry was requested by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and it lasted for more than one hour.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pentagon has been consistently trying to reach out to the Russian defense officials to arrange a call or dialogue. The phone call between Austin and Shoigu is a major breakthrough in this regard.

During his call with the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Secretary Austin reiterated the unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and security assistance efforts to bolster Ukraine’s capacity to counter Russian invasion.

*^{U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III meets with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., on November 18, 2021. (Image Credit: DOD/Lisa Ferdinando)}*

The U.S. Defense Secretary has been actively working on the front lines of U.S. diplomacy to gather support for Ukraine. Last month he visited Kyiv along with the Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in order to discuss the matters related to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

During his meeting with President Zelenskyy, he stated that “We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.” His statement met with a lot of criticism from Russia.

During his trip to Europe in April 2022, Austin also hosted the Ramstein Meeting at the U.S. Airbase in Germany. Representatives from more than 40 countries including all NATO and EU member states as well as Australia, South Korea, Israel, Kenya, and Tunisia attended the meeting.

Austin announced that the U.S. plans to host regular sessions of the Ramstein Meeting with fellow countries as it would turn the defense consultation dialogue forum into an indirect military coalition.