WASHINGTON, October 23. /TASS/. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin noted the importance of further bilateral contacts with Russia amid the special military operation in Ukraine, Pentagon press secretary, Pat Ryder, said after Austin’s phone talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
"Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone Oct. 23 with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu, who requested a follow up call. Secretary Austin rejected any pretext for Russian escalation and reaffirmed the value of continued communication" amid Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
Russia’s defense ministry said earlier in the day that Minister Shoigu had held another telephone conversation with his US counterpart, the second one since Friday.
Earlier on Sunday, Shoigu also held telephone talks with his British, French, and Turkish counterparts, Ben Wallace, Sebastien Lecornu and Hulusi Akar, to convey Russia’s concerns over possible provocations with the use of a dirty bomb in Ukraine.
The topic of Ukraine’s nuclear blackmail was raised by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said earlier that Kiev has planned to make a dirty bomb of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.