Moscow. 19 May. INTERFAX-AVN - The situation in Ukraine was discussed on Thursday, among other issues, during a telephone conversation between the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov and the chairman of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces Mark Milli, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
"Issues of mutual interest were discussed, including the situation in Ukraine," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The conversation took place at the initiative of the American side, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The details of the conversation were not reported by the Russian Defense Ministry.
The talks took place against the backdrop of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the supply of weapons to Ukraine by a number of states, and plans for Sweden and Finland to join NATO.
Gerasimov and Milli held previous telephone conversations on February 11. "The military leaders discussed topical issues of international security," the Russian Defense Ministry reported at the time.
On May 13, the Russian Defense Ministry announced telephone conversations between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin.
"Topical issues of international security were discussed, including the situation in Ukraine," the Russian Defense Ministry said that day. The department then said that the conversation took place on the initiative of the United States.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that on May 13, the US Secretary of Defense called on Shoigu for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and stressed the importance of maintaining communication lines.
In March, The Washington Post, citing Kirby, reported that Moscow allegedly rejected repeated attempts by the top US military leadership to talk to their Russian counterparts during that month.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. Many countries have responded by imposing large-scale sanctions against Russia.
On May 19, the first deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, Sergei Kiriyenko, said that in a special military operation in Ukraine, Russia is at war with the united West.
"We all understand that in a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine, Russia is not fighting with Ukraine today. The united West is fighting against us, just on the territory of Ukraine and, unfortunately, by the hands of Ukrainians. It's a dramatic thing, but it's true," Kiriyenko said at the marathon "New Horizons" of the Russian society "Knowledge".
