U.S. and Russian military officials spoke on Tuesday amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley spoke via telephone with Russia’s top military officer, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, and the two discussed “several security-related issues of concern,” according to a readout from Joint Staff Spokesman Col. Dave Butler.
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“The phone call is a continuation of communication between both leaders to ensure risk reduction and operational de-confliction,” Butler added. “In accordance with past practice, both have agreed to keep the specific details of their conversation private.”
The Russian Defense Ministry, in a separate statement, said the two generals “discussed the ongoing issues of international security,” according to Russian news agency TASS, though neither they nor Butler provided specific details.
Their call comes as the United States and its NATO allies have expressed concern about Russia’s massing of troops near the Ukrainian border, just like it did when it annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
Milley spoke with Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Valery Zaluzhny to share “perspectives and assessments of the evolving security environment in Eastern Europe,” according to a separate readout from Butler.
Milley attracted controversy earlier this year when a call he had with his Chinese counterpart appeared to undermine former President Donald Trump’s authority as commander in chief.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this month that the U.S. doesn’t “have clarity into Moscow’s intentions, but we do know its playbook” regarding their troop buildup.
“And our concern is that Russia may make the serious mistake of attempting to rehash what it undertook back in 2014, when it amassed forces along the border, crossed into sovereign Ukrainian territory, and did so claiming, falsely, that it was provoked,” he added.
