Russia’s Shoigu holds second name with U.S. protection secretary in three days By Reuters

(Reuters) – Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday for the second time in three days and held a flurry of calls with three different counterparts from NATO international locations.

Moscow supplied no particulars on the dialog with Austin, which got here after the 2 males spoke on Friday for the primary time since Could. Its readouts on the opposite calls mentioned Shoigu had mentioned the scenario in Ukraine was worsening.

“They mentioned the scenario in Ukraine which is quickly deteriorating,” the Russian defence ministry mentioned of Shoigu’s name with French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu. “It’s trending in the direction of additional uncontrolled escalation.”

Shoigu spoke individually to Turkey’s defence minister Hulusi Akar and Britain’s Ben Wallace.

There was no indication from the Russian facet that the conversations had produced any optimistic outcome. They confirmed, nonetheless, that Russia and members of the U.S.-led NATO alliance are actively sustaining channels of communication at a time of rising worldwide concern a few attainable nuclear escalation.

With Russia reeling from successive defeats in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has mentioned it will resort to nuclear weapons if essential to defend its “territorial integrity”. U.S. President Joe Biden has mentioned the world is nearer to “Armageddon” than at any time for the reason that 1962 Cuban Missile Disaster.

NATO final week launched its annual nuclear deterrence train and has mentioned it expects Russia to carry drills shortly to check the readiness of its personal nuclear forces.

A high Russian diplomat was quoted after the Shoigu-Austin name final Friday as saying that “misunderstandings should be cleared up in order that there aren’t any accidents”.

French minister Lecornu mentioned after Sunday’s name that he had reaffirmed France’s need for a peaceable decision to the warfare in Ukraine, and that Paris refused to get drawn into any type of escalation.

Britain mentioned Wallace had “refuted” claims by Shoigu that Western international locations have been facilitating a plan by Kyiv to escalate the battle.

Shoigu’s ministry mentioned he had instructed his French, Turkish and British counterparts of Moscow’s concern that Ukraine might detonate a “soiled bomb” – a tool laced with radioactive materials. Russia has supplied no proof to substantiate such a declare.

Earlier Russian assertions that Ukraine would possibly resort to utilizing banned weapons similar to organic arms have stirred issues within the West that Moscow could be getting ready to stage “false flag” assaults and blame them on Kyiv.