Rare phone call between US-Russia chiefs of staff

On December 4, the US military announced that a rare phone call between General CQ Brown, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, took place last week.

Reuters reported on December 5 that this was the first chief of staff-level phone call between General CQ Brown and his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov.

"The US-Russian military leaders discussed a range of global and regional security issues, including the ongoing fighting in Ukraine," Reuters quoted a spokesman for the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

What did the US-Russia Chiefs of Staff discuss in a rare phone call?

The rare phone call was made on November 27, "but at General Gerasimov's request, General Brown agreed not to proactively announce the call."

The initial request for the call came from the Russian Defense Ministry , according to a spokesman for the US general.

Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov (left) and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown

Photo: Reuters/US Air Force

General Brown was approved by the US Senate to replace General Mark Milley as Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff from September 2023. Previously, the last phone call between the US and Russian chiefs of staff was held in March 2023.

The call between the US and Russian Joint Chiefs of Staff comes at a time of heightened tensions in recent weeks, with Ukraine firing long-range missiles made by the US and Britain at targets inside Russia, despite warnings from Moscow that it would view such actions as a serious escalation.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Moscow had used a new medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile called the "Oreshnik" to destroy a Ukrainian military facility. The leader warned that similar attacks would continue.

US officials said Moscow notified Washington shortly before firing the Oreshnik missile.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cuoc-dien-dam-hiem-hoi-cap-tong-tham-muu-truong-my-nga-185241205083544051.htm