Russia Makes Phone Call to Pentagon After NATO Summit

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin delivers remarks during a public forum as part of the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington on July 10, 2024. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Russia’s top military brass reached out for a phone call with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin one day after the conclusion of the NATO summit in Washington.

A Pentagon spokesperson highlighted the importance of keeping open lines of communication, while the Russian Defense Ministry stated that the discussions focused on reducing the risk of “possible escalation.”

Department of Defense spokesperson Sabrina Singh said at a Pentagon press briefing on July 12 that earlier in the day, Russian Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov initiated a phone call with Mr. Austin and the two senior officials spoke for an undisclosed amount of time.

“During the call, the secretary emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” Ms. Singh told reporters at the briefing, providing no further details besides noting that the call was initiated by the Russian side and that the last time that Mr. Austin spoke with Mr. Belousov was on June 25.

Prior to the June call, the last time that Mr. Austin spoke with his Russian counterpart was in March 2023.

Asked by a reporter whether such calls might become more regular between the two sides, Ms. Singh replied, “In terms of future calls, of course, nothing to announce, but as the secretary has said and what I also mentioned at the top is that maintaining lines of communication is incredibly important right now.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that it had initiated the phone call and offered some details of the substance of the discussion.

“The issue of preventing security threats and reducing the risk of possible escalation was discussed,” the ministry stated in a post on its Telegram channel.

Their prior phone call at the end of June, which came at Mr. Austin’s request, was their first after Mr. Belousov replaced Sergei Shoigu as Russia’s defense minister in May.

On the U.S. side, the readout from the June 25 call and the July 12 call were nearly identical, noting only that Mr. Austin emphasized the importance of keeping lines of communication open.

Remarking on the June 25 call, the Russians said Mr. Belousov warned Mr. Austin of the dangers of continued U.S. arms supplies to Ukraine in the 28-month-old war.

Relations between the United States and Russia have deteriorated markedly since Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022.

The call was made on the heels of the NATO summit in Washington, during which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on members of the military alliance to remove restrictions on the embattled nation’s ability to hit targets inside Russia.

The Ukrainian president said it is “crazy” that the country’s forces cannot freely retaliate against missile installations in Russia that have launched attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, such as a Russian strike on a children’s hospital on July 8.

Several NATO member states, most notably the United States, have put restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S. systems to strike deep into Russian territory. However, Russia’s most recent wave of attacks against civilian infrastructure seems to have brought about a shift in attitude among the alliance, with the UK approving at the summit Kyiv’s use of missiles that it has provided against targets in Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference in Moscow on July 12 that some NATO-provided missiles were already being used to strike targets inside Russia while warning that any deployment of longer-range fires could lead to an escalation.

“What’s important is that these missiles are being used for attacks on our regions already,” Mr. Peskov told reporters, according to Russian state media outlet Tass. “As regards longer-range missiles, this is a pure provocation and a new, very dangerous round of escalation.”

Mr. Peskov was presumably referring to the fact that the U.S. and German governments issued a joint statement during the NATO summit on July 10 that the United States will begin deploying in Germany long-range fires that have the ability to reach Russia.

The long-range fires capabilities will include the SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles and developmental hypersonic weapons.

“Exercising these advanced capabilities will demonstrate the United States’ commitment to NATO and its contributions to European integrated deterrence,” the joint statement reads.

The Pentagon spokesperson was asked at the July 12 press conference whether the United States supports lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to strike targets deeper inside Russia.

“Our policy hasn’t changed,” Ms. Singh said. “We do allow those cross-border strikes when Russia is attacking from the other side of the border. And as the war has changed, we have changed. Our policies have adapted. And you’ve seen that play out in Kharkiv, and it could expand into other areas.”

The Pentagon has not authorized the use of the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System for deep-strike capabilities within Russia, she said.

“I have to remind you, they have other long-range capabilities that are not provided by the United States, but in terms of our policy, that has not changed,” Ms. Singh said.

Russia–NATO tensions have heated up over the prospect of U.S. missile deployment in Germany, with the Kremlin vowing to develop a “military response” to counter the threat.

Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.