Russian Arms Negotiator Gavrilov Calls Contact ‘Important’ in Shoigu-Austin Talks

Oct. 22, 2022 (EIRNS)—The head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control Konstantin Gavrilov gave some insights into the Oct. 21 telephone discussion between Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Commenting that he hoped the discussion would lead to the U.S. keeping Russia informed on NATO’s current “Steadfast Noon” nuclear exercise, Gavrilov told the Rossiya-24 news channel last night that “we hope that after a U.S.-initiated conversation between Secretary Austin and our Minister Shoigu, we will have some clarification. After all, contact is contact.” Gavrilov further stated that Russia “is closely watching these moves. We hope that everything will turn out well.”

Gavrilov told the TV network that the conversation was needed to clear up misunderstandings and eliminate risks. “We need to eliminate misunderstandings so that there are no accidents. And I believe it is prevention—and that is what we are working on here, for example, on a smaller scale—of incidents at sea, in midair over ships, and on a more global scale—the nuclear aspect. To my mind, these contacts are always important and it is crucial that the Americans were the first to go for it,” Gavrilov said, as reported by TASS.