Russia contacts Pentagon for request after NATO summit

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone Friday with his Russian counterpart for the second time in less than a month and a day after the end of a NATO summit in Washington focused on countering Moscow, according to the Pentagon.

During the call with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, initiated by Moscow, Austin “emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said. , to reporters.

Austin last spoke to Belousov on June 25, about 2.5 weeks earlier. Prior to that, the Pentagon chief had not spoken directly with his Russian counterpart since March 2023. Communications between Washington and Moscow have been almost completely disrupted since Kremlin forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

But Russia appears to be in turmoil following the NATO Summit, during which the alliance’s members issued a joint statement setting out new military and financial support for Ukraine and pledged their support for an “irreversible path” to the embattled country’s future membership. .

Furthermore, NATO supported Ukraine’s effort to gain more latitude in using Western-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia, with the United Kingdom announcing that it would allow Kiev to strike targets over Russia’s borders with long-range missiles supplied by the British people.

Additionally, the US and Germany announced on Wednesday the movement of more strategic weapons to Europe, including long-range fires such as undeveloped hypersonic missile systems, from 2026.

Moscow, which has long viewed NATO expansion as a threat to national security, said it would retaliate against U.S. missile launch plans.

“NATO once again very clearly confirmed its essence. It is an alliance founded in an era of confrontation with the aim of continuing the confrontation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday during a press conference with Russian news agencies.

“We see in fact that the alliance’s military infrastructure is constantly and gradually moving towards our borders. … All of this will require us to take thoughtful, coordinated and effective responses to deter and confront the alliance.”

Adding to tensions were reports this week that US and German intelligence had thwarted a Russian assassination plot against the CEO of a German company that shipped munitions to Ukraine.

Since then, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that allies are increasing information sharing to counter these Russian attacks.

Asked whether the Pentagon has any information corroborating the Russian assassination plot, or whether Austin mentioned the foiled conspiracy with Belousov, Singh declined to provide further details.

“Of course we, with any of our allies and partners, always share intelligence and information, but I simply have no more to add,” she said.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story