Andrei Belousov called Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin on July 12 because of information received by Moscow about an upcoming Ukrainian covert operation against Russia, which, according to Moscow, was approved by the United States, sources told The New York Times.
Belousov asked Austin whether the Pentagon knew about the impending operation and the potential threat to increase tensions between Moscow and Washington, the publication’s interlocutors said. They added that the Pentagon did not know about this and were surprised by Belousov’s statement.
According to NYT sources, “whatever” the Russian minister said was taken “quite seriously.”
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«Таинственный заговор стал причиной редкого звонка из России в Пентагон»: Министр обороны России Андрей Белоусов позвонил американскому коллеге, чтобы предотвратить тайную операцию.
ReplyDelete«12 июля российский министр позвонил главе Пентагона Ллойду Остину, чтобы обсудить с ним украинскую секретную операцию и уточнить, знали ли о ней в Вашингтоне. В минобороны США заверили, что не были осведомлены о планах Киева. Не вдаваясь в детали, все три источника отметили, что к сообщению Белоусова отнеслись достаточно серьёзно, чтобы связаться с украинцами и сказать, чтобы те отказались от операции, о которой стало известно Белоусову.
Собеседники издания подчеркнули, что несмотря на зависимость Украины от США в плане военной, разведывательной и дипломатической поддержки, украинские чиновники не всегда откровенны со своими американскими коллегами относительно своих военных операций, особенно против российской стороны»
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov and US Defense Chief Lloyd Austin discussed Ukraine's upcoming ‘covert operation’ against Russia in a telephone conversation on July 12, the New York Times said.
ReplyDeleteUS officials told the newspaper that the Russian side allegedly intended to find out whether the United States had anything to do with Kiev's plans. The sources said that the Pentagon was not aware of the Ukrainian operation, but took Moscow's warning "seriously enough to contact the Ukrainians and say, essentially, "if you’re thinking about doing something like this, don’t."
According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian leadership does not always share with the United States plans for military operations, which displeases Washington. The Pentagon refused to answer the question whether the heads of the top Russian and American defense officials actually discussed Kiev's operation, as well as whether this topic was touched upon in Austin's conversation with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
On July 12, Belousov had his second phone conversation with Austin after his appointment as Defense Minister. According to the Defense Ministry, the sides discussed the issue of reducing the risk of a possible escalation.