Russian and US officials have agreed to restore military dialogue during talks in Abu Dhabi. AP
The agreement emerged from a meeting between senior Russian and American military officials in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the US military in Europe said.
The restored communication channel “will provide a consistent military-to-military contact as the parties continue to work towards a lasting peace,” the US European Command said in a statement.
High-level military communication was suspended in 2021, as relations between Moscow and Washington became increasingly strained ahead of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
US Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who is the commander in Europe of both US and NATO forces, was in Abu Dhabi, where talks between American, Russian, and Ukrainian officials on ending the war entered a second day.
Meanwhile, Moscow escalated its attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in an apparent effort to deny civilians power and to weaken public support for the fight, while hostilities continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line snaking through eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.
An effort to lower tensions
The resumption of the military-to-military hotline marks an effort to ease tensions that soared after the start of the war and to avoid collisions between Russian and US forces.
In one such incident in March 2023, the American military said it ditched an Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Black Sea after a pair of Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on it, and then one of them struck its propeller while flying in international airspace.
Moscow has denied that its warplanes hit the drone, alleging that it crashed while making a sharp maneuver.
The Kremlin said its aircraft reacted to a violation of a no-fly zone Russia has established in the area near Crimea.
Moscow has repeatedly voiced concern about intelligence flights by the US and other NATO aircraft over the Black Sea, and some Russian officials charged that the American surveillance flights helped gather intelligence that allowed Ukraine to strike Russian targets.
NATO members have been increasingly worried about intrusions into allied airspace. Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO’s response.
In September, a swarm of Russian drones flew into Poland’s airspace, prompting NATO aircraft to scramble to intercept them and shoot down some of the devices. It was the first direct encounter between NATO and Moscow since the full-scale invasion.
Later that month, NATO jets escorted three Russian warplanes out of Estonia’s airspace.
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