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Russian Defense Ministry Ready to Discuss Ukraine With Pentagon

© Flickr / dbking Russian Defense Ministry Ready to Discuss Ukraine With Pentagon
Russian Defense Ministry Ready to Discuss Ukraine With Pentagon - Sputnik International
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The Russian Defense Ministry is prepared to discuss the crisis in Ukraine with the Pentagon, although it has not received a request for such talks, Gen. Maj. Igor Konashenkov said Friday.

MOSCOW, April 25 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Defense Ministry is prepared to discuss the crisis in Ukraine with the Pentagon, although it has not received a request for such talks, Gen. Maj. Igor Konashenkov said Friday.

Media reports earlier said that Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel had attempted to contact Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss the situation on Ukraine’s border.

“The Russian Defense Ministry was surprised by reports in the press citing Hagel’s apparent attempts to organize a telephone conversation with … Sergei Shoigu,” Konashenkov said.

He said that there have been no notices sent to the Russian Defense Ministry recently on Hagel’s desire to speak with Shoigu, and that there is a standard procedure for initiating such conversations that has worked for many years.

“The Russian Defense Ministry confirms its readiness to an objective and constructive discussion with [our] American partners to normalize the situation in Ukraine. We believe that direct dialogue between the heads of the military branches of Russia and the US are always a better exchange than through the press,” Konashenkov said.

Shoigu announced Thursday that Russia will conduct military drills in response to the developing situation in Ukraine’s southeast, where a special operation has targeted the country’s own citizens.

The Security Service of Ukraine announced Wednesday that a military operation launched by Ukrainian authorities earlier this month against protesters in eastern Ukraine had again entered an active phase, following a temporary suspension after an agreement reached in Geneva last week.

Ukrainian authorities launched the operation to crack down on pro-federalization activists in eastern regions of the country that have been swept by rallies since last month.

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