Pentagon chief speaks to Russian counterpart after drone incident

United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said he spoke to his Russian counterpart following this week’s downing of a US drone over the Black Sea, which Washington has blamed on Moscow.
The rare, high-level talks come a day after US officials said a Russian jet made contact with a US MQ-9 Reaper drone, forcing it to be shot down. Moscow has denied that a collision occurred.
But Austin appeared to show restraint during a news conference at the Pentagon, saying the US takes “any potential for escalation very seriously and that’s why I believe it’s important to keep the lines of communication open”.

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Ratansi reports from the Pentagon.

Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish
Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera
Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/
Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/

#UkraineWar #Russia #UnitedStates #USDroneCrash #BlackSea #MQ9Reaper #Pentagon #LloydAustin