Barrons | The US and Russian defense chiefs spoke Friday for the first time in months but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he saw no interest from Moscow for broader talks to end the Ukraine war.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid the ongoing war against Ukraine" during the call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, said a US spokesman, Brigadier General Pat Ryder.
Russia's defense ministry confirmed the call and said the two discussed Ukraine without further details.
The defense chiefs last spoke on May 13 when Austin urged Moscow to implement an "immediate ceasefire" in Ukraine.
Russia did not do so, and Kyiv's forces have since regained swathes of territory from Moscow's troops in the east and south of the country with the United States and other Western powers sending in billions of dollars in weapons.
Austin separately spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov "to reiterate the unwavering US commitment to supporting Ukraine's ability to counter Russia's aggression," Ryder said.
Blinken said the United States would keep contacts with Russia but said that any broader diplomacy depended on President Vladimir Putin showing an interest "in stopping the aggression."
"We have seen no evidence of that in this moment. On the contrary, we see Russia doubling and tripling down on its aggression," Blinken told a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.
Blinken pointed to Russia's recent attacks on power stations and other civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and the mobilization of troops who Blinken called "horrifically, cannon fodder that Putin is trying to throw into the war."
"The fundamental difference is that Ukrainians are fighting for their country, their land, their future. Russia is not and the sooner President Putin understands that and comes to that conclusion, the sooner we will be able to end this war," Blinken said.
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