US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made a phone call Wednesday with his Russian counterpart Gen. Sergei Shoigu. During the call, they discussed a number of issues of common interest. The two sides also discussed ways to support transparency and efforts to reduce threats after the resumption of the Strategic Stability Dialogue between the United States and Russia in Geneva In late July, senior US and Russian officials restarted bilateral talks on easing tensions between the world's largest nuclear weapons powers and agreed to reconvene in September after informal consultations. Shoigu discussed with Austin the results of bilateral consultations on strategic stability as well as issues of global and regional security, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters. Austin and Shoigu spoke by phone to discuss risk-reduction efforts following bilateral strategic stability talks in Geneva, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday. "The purpose of the call was to support transparency and risk-reduction efforts following the July 28 resumption of the US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland." During the summit in Geneva on June 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin and American President Joe Biden issued a joint statement on strategic stability, which among other things stipulated that as major nuclear superpowers, Russia and the US, would have consultations on further steps to ensure stable strategic cooperation after the extension of the New START treaty. — Agencies
