The Russian and United States army chiefs held an unusual telephone call last week in the middle of escalation in Ukraine, officials from both sides have said.Direct contact between Moscow and Washington has nearly disappeared amid Russias full-scale intrusion of Ukraine, and the Kremlin has said it considers the United States a direct participant in the conflict.The call, between Russias Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and the United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown, took place on Nov.
27 and was held at the demand of the Russian side, both Moscow and Washington said.The leaders discussed a number of international and regional security issues to consist of the continuous dispute in Ukraine, Browns spokesperson told AFP.It was the first call between the set because Brown took over the role in October 2023.
The Russian defense ministry stated Gerasimov had informed Brown about Russian military drills in the eastern Mediterranean, revealed as Moscow performs air strikes to support its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in quashing an Islamist-led rebellion.This details was provided with the goal of avoiding possible events in connection with the presence of United States and NATO ships near the area of Russian drills, it stated in a statement on Telegram.It did not point out Ukraine or any other topic.Citing a United States military spokesperson, the New York Times reported that the set gone over Russias new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile.Brown likewise expressed United States issue over the implementation of North Korean troops to support Russias army on the battleground, CNN reported.Tensions between Russia and the United States have actually intensified because Donald Trump won the presidential election in November.The outbound Biden administration has actually offered Kyiv the thumbs-up to fire United States -supplied ATACMS missiles on Russian territory, while Russia reduced its limit for using nuclear weapons.In reaction to Kyiv striking Russian border regions with Western weapons, Russia said it check fired a never-before-seen nuclear-capable missile in a strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.