Russian Defense Ministry says has no statements on Hagel's wish to have phone talks with Shoigu
MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Defense Ministry is surprised by the media reports citing U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel saying he is allegedly trying to organize a phone conversation with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on the de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine.
"The Russian Defense Ministry has not received any notifications from the U.S. authorities on Chuck Hagel's wish to have phone negotiations with Sergei Shoigu," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
"The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, confirms its readiness for objective and constructive conversation with its U.S. partners in the interests of normalizing the situation in Ukraine," Konashenkov said.
"We believe that direct dialogue between the heads of the defense agencies of Russia and the U.S. is always better than an exchange of statements through the media," Konashenkov said, adding that "the procedures governing the organizations of negotiations between the two countries' defense agencies have been there for many years."
