US, Russia to reestablish military-to-military talks

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – The U.S. military said that Washington and Moscow on Thursday agreed to reestablish high level military-to-military dialogue, following talks in Abu Dhabi, a move which could signal a move towards normalizing some ties between the United States and Russia.

The United States halted military-to-military communication with Moscow just before Russia invaded Ukraine. The conflict, which began in 2022, is the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.

In a statement, the U.S. military said the aim of reestablishing the mechanism was to avoid miscalculation and escalation by either side.

“Maintaining dialogue between militaries is an important factor in global stability and peace, which can only be achieved through strength, and provides a means for increased transparency and de-escalation,” the statement added.

The reestablishment comes after the commander of U.S. European Command, General Alexus Grynkewich, held talks with senior Russian and Ukrainian military officials in Abu Dhabi.

Even after high-level military talks were halted between the United States and Russia, they maintained an emergency deconfliction line.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have directly spoken with each other on several occasions.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in Washington, Shubham Kalia in BengaluruEditing by Ros Russell and Chizu Nomiyama )