The US Defense Minister assured that American planes will continue to fly wherever international law allows.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s and the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu have discussed on the phone the tense situation in the Black Sea, reported news agency Reuters on Wednesday evening.
After the discussion, Austin assured that the country’s planes will continue to fly wherever international law allows.
Russia demanded the United States stop “hostile” flights near the Russian border after the United States said on Tuesday that its unmanned military aircraft had crashed in the Black Sea after being hit by a Russian fighter jet.
– The United States will continue flights and operations wherever international law allows. Therefore, it is Russia’s responsibility to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner, Austin said.
According to the Kremlin, Shoigu told his American colleague that the reason for the collision was the increased collection of anti-Russian intelligence by the United States.
Šoigu told Austin that using drones near the Crimea region was provocative and could lead to an escalation of the situation, the ministry says.
According to the press release of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia has had no intention of escalating the situation, but in the future the country will respond in an appropriate “proportion” to provocations by the United States.
It is currently unclear whether the collision was intentional
Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces Mark Milley said the defense forces are still analyzing the data sent by the military aircraft to determine exactly what happened.
According to Milley, it is still unclear, among other things, whether the Russian fighter crashed into an unmanned plane on purpose.
The United States said on Tuesday that its unmanned MQ-9 Reaper, which was on a routine mission, crashed into the sea when it was hit by a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet.
The situation in the Black Sea has become more tense since Russia started a large-scale war of aggression against Ukraine in February of last year. It was the first direct military contact and significant danger between Russia and the United States since the start of the war.
Sources: Reuters, AFP