The call this Friday between the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Shoigu, the first between the two since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, failed to solve “any serious problem”the Pentagon said.
“The call itself did not solve any serious problems or lead to direct changes in what Russians do or say”, a senior US Department of Defense official told reporters.
in the conversation, Austin asked Shoigu for a ceasefire in the Ukraine, but no results.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement that it is the The first time they have spoken since last February 18, six days before the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Secretary Austin called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and stressed the importance of maintaining lines of communication,” Kirby pointed out, adding that both leaders “discussed current international security issues, including the situation in Ukraine.”
For his part, the Russian Defense Ministry also reported on the conversation between Austin and Shoigu and specified that both discussed “current international security issues, including the situation in Ukraine.” In a statement, according to the Russian news agency interface, the Russian portfolio indicated that the conversation took place at the initiative of the American side.
At the end of February Vladimir Putin ordered the start of the offensive in Ukraine, that so far has left more than 3,000 dead, according to United Nations figures. Until now, six million Ukrainians are refugees as a result of the conflict and eight have become internally displaced.
The United States and its allies are collaborating with kyiv with military and humanitarian aid, and have strengthened their positions in the NATO countries neighboring Ukraine.
A week after the beginning of the invasion, The US established a direct line of communication with the Russian Defense Ministry to avoid unwanted clashes between Russian forces and US soldiers deployed in allied countries in Eastern Europe.
This line was established March 1 in order to avoid miscalculations, military incidents and an escalation of tension between the two powers.
The call occurs when the advance of Russian forces in Donbas against Ukrainian troops is several weeks behind schedule regarding the Kremlin’s plans, according to Washington.
But Moscow has given no indication of slowing down or withdrawing and, according to Western intelligence, wants to gain control of much of the Ukrainian territory, in the south and east of the country.
Finland and Sweden this week expressed their desire to join NATO, direct consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is not a member of the Atlantic Alliance.
(With information from AFP, EFE, EuropaPress)
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Source-www.infobae.com