US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that US planes will fly “where international law permits” and warned Russia to act with caution after a fighter jet allegedly shot down a US drone.
Austin made the statement shortly after a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, about Tuesday’s incident over the Black Sea, when two Russian fighter jets intercepted a US surveillance drone.
The United States called Russia’s move “reckless” and “unprofessional”, while Moscow denies responsibility and accuses Washington of conducting “hostile” flights in the region.
“The United States will continue to fly and operate where international law allows,” Austin told reporters after the call with Shoigu. “And it behooves Russia to operate its military planes in a safe and professional manner,” she added.
US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said the Pentagon was analyzing video and data from the drone to see exactly what happened.
“Whether it was intentional or not? I still don’t know,” he told reporters. “We know the interception was intentional. We know the aggressive behavior was intentional, we also know it was very unprofessional and very unsafe.”
“But the actual Russian fighter contact […] physical contact, we’re still not sure”.
Austin thanked Shoigu for the conversation. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, direct contact between top defense officials in both countries has been extremely rare.
“We take any potential for escalation very seriously and so we believe it’s important to keep the lines of communication open. I think it’s really critical that we can pick up the phone and talk amongst ourselves. And I think that will help to avoid miscalculations in the future.” .”
Meet the US drone allegedly shot down by Russia