US, Russian military chiefs resume talks

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday about the downing of a US intelligence drone in the Black Sea.

It was the first call between Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu since October. And Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had a similar call with his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces.

"We take any potential for escalation very seriously. And that's why I believe it's important to keep the lines of communication open," Austin said during a Pentagon news briefing. "I think that will help to prevent miscalculation going forward."

Shoigu told Austin that "increased intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation "and "non-compliance with the restricted flight zone" declared by Moscow due to its campaign in Ukraine had led to the incident, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry also warned that it would react "proportionately" to any future US "provocations". The Kremlin also said Moscow would try to recover the drone's wreckage.

But Milley downplayed the significance of any potential recovery by Russia. "It probably broke up. There's probably not a lot to recover," he said.

According to a Reuters report, the US military MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drone crashed on Tuesday after being intercepted by Russian fighter jets. The Pentagon said one of the Russian Su-27 jets struck the propeller of the drone, making it inoperable, a claim denied by Moscow.

The Reaper, according to a statement by Russia's Defense Ministry, was flying over the sea near the Crimean Peninsula and intruded into an area that was declared off-limits by Russia as part of its military operation in Ukraine, causing the military to scramble fighters to intercept it.

Agencies - Xinhua