US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoygu held a telephone conversation this Friday, during which General Austin called for an immediate ceasefire.
This is the first phone call between the two counterparts since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said General Austin had stressed the importance of maintaining communication, as Moscow had appeared uninterested in talking to the U.S. during the latter's earlier efforts.
A US official said the tone of the 1-hour phone call was "professional", but did not resolve any specific issues or lead to changes in Russian policy.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that it was the US side that made the call and that the parties had discussed "current issues of international security… including the situation in Ukraine".