MOSCOW. March 20 (Interfax) - General Valery Gerasimov, the head of the Russian General Staff and first deputy defense minister of Russia, and General Philip Breedlove, NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, discussed the situation in Ukraine and Crimea in a phone conversation on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry press service told Interfax.
"A decision was made to discuss various aspects of the crisis in Ukraine. General Valery Gerasimov shared his opinion about the situation with security in the Republic of Crimea after the March 16 referendum. In this context, the role of the Crimean Security Forces in ensuring order on the peninsula and preventing extremist and terrorist activities was pointed out," the report says.
The document also says Gerasimov had drawn Breedlove's attention to the incident that occurred in Simferopol on March 18, in which representatives of the Crimean self-defense forces and Ukrainian troops were killed and wounded and the subsequent decision made by Ukraine to give Ukrainian troops the right to use weapons.
The conversation took place at NATO's initiative, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. "General Valery Gerasimov and General Philip Breedlove agreed to continue their contacts," the report says.