MOSCOW, April 25. /ITAR-TASS/. The US Department of Defense has not informed Russia that Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel wants a telephone conversation with Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told ITAR-TASS on Friday.

The Russian Defense Ministry was surprised with several media reports with reference to Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel that the latter had allegedly tried to organize a telephone conversation with Russian Defense Minister General Sergei Shoigu over de-escalation of current situation in Ukraine.

“Russia's Defense Ministry did not receive any notification recently from the United States that Chuck Hagel wants telephone talks with Sergei Shoigu,” he said.

The Russian defense agency’s spokesman noted that the procedure of arranging talks between the defense chiefs of the two countries had already been in effect for many years. “Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that it was ready to have an objective and constructive talk with US partners to improve current situation in Ukraine,” he said, adding that “We believe that direct talks between the defense chiefs of Russia and the United States are always better than exchange of statements in media.