US, Belarus army chiefs speak to avoid drill ‘miscalculation’: Pentagon

INTERNATIONAL DESK: US and Belarusian defense chiefs have held rare telephone talks to avoid a “miscalculation” during Russia-Belarus joint military drills, the Pentagon said Thursday, at a time of heightened tensions over the Kremlin’s massing of troops near Ukraine.

“The phone call facilitated communication between both leaders to reduce chances of miscalculation and gain perspectives on current European security,” the Pentagon statement said.

Russia rolled its tanks across Belarus on Thursday for live-fire drills amid rising Western fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)