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.

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