US defence secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the downing of a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday in a rare conversation amid escalating tensions over the incident.
The phone call, which marked the third time the two officials have spoken since the war began, came a day after US officials said a Russian fighter jet had struck the MQ-9 Reaper drone and forced it down over the Black Sea.
“It’s important that great powers be models of transparency and communication,” Austin said, adding that 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”.
Austin said Washington would continue to conduct surveillance flights in the area. “The United States will fly and operate wherever international law allows,” he said.
Austin’s comments come as Moscow and Washington continue to present duelling narratives over the collision, which marked the first known direct contact between the two countries’ militaries since Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine last year.
Russia’s defence ministry said the drone crossed into airspace over the Black Sea over which Moscow claims jurisdiction, prompting its air force to send two jets from a nearby base to identify it.
Moscow denies US claims that one of its fighter jets made direct contact with the drone, instead saying the drone lost control “as a result of a sharp manoeuvre” and crashed into the sea without Russian involvement.
Milley said the US was still assessing whether the contact between the Russian jet and drone was intentional, but it deemed the encounter to have been deliberately aggressive.
Two Russian fighter jets flew very close to the drone and dumped fuel on to it before one made direct contact with the aircraft, forcing it to crash into the sea, US officials said.
Asked whether the episode represented an act of war, Milley said: “As far as an act of war goes, I’m not gonna go there. Incidents happen,” adding the US does not seek armed conflict with Russia.
On Wednesday, Russian security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev said Moscow would try to recover the remains of the drone in the Black Sea, adding it would be logistically possible to do so.
However, US officials said the drone had sunk to between 4,000 and 5,000 feet underwater and they were still assessing whether it would be retrievable. They added that they have also taken steps to ensure Russia cannot recover any valuable intelligence from it.
Patrushev said that in Russia’s view, the drone episode indicated the US was directly involved in the war in Ukraine.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Putin had been briefed about the drone.
Austin and General Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the US has video of the incident and Pentagon officials are assessing whether they can release the footage.
“We remain confident in the facts that we have conveyed thus far,” Austin said.
Milley said he also plans to speak with his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov by phone about the episode, which he said comes amid a broader pattern of “more aggressive” Russian behaviour.
The Biden administration on Tuesday summoned Russia’s ambassador to the US to the state department to denounce the collision.
