On February 12, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby reports.
According to him, “They discussed Russia’s force build-up in Crimea and around Ukraine.”
Austin and Shoigu are said to have addressed security issues of mutual interest.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and US State Secretary Antony Blinken had a telephone conversation. Today, later, the telephone conversation between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden is also expected.
