On Tuesday, June 25, Chief of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin held telephone talks with Russia's new Defense Minister Andrey Belousov for the first time, according to Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder.
According to Ryder, the conversation was initiated by the American side.
Austin discussed Russia's war against Ukraine with Belousov. He emphasized the importance of maintaining communications between the US and Russian military departments.
The Pentagon spokesman did not disclose any other details of the conversation.
The last conversation between the US and Russian defense ministers was in March 2023, when Austin spoke with Sergei Shoigu.
Replacement of the Russian Defense Minister
In May, Vladimir Putin appointed First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov as head of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
At the same time, Sergei Shoigu, who held the position of Defense Minister for more than 10 years, was appointed as the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Read more about the reshuffle in the Kremlin in the material by RBC-Ukraine.
