President Obama neglected to broach the "unsafe" passes that Russian jets recently made close to a U.S. ship during a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday that Obama and Putin engaged in a "rather intense discussion" over the phone that touched on the ongoing Syrian civil war and Russia’s continued intervention in Ukraine, The Hill reported.
When asked about the incidents involving the Russian attack aircraft last week, Earnest said that they "did not come up in the call between the two presidents." He called such incidents "destabilizing" but said they are "not particularly unusual."
Last Monday, two Russian Su-24 fighter jets made several close-range, low-altitude passes of the USS Donald Cook when it was conducting deck landing drills with an allied military helicopter. One of the passes was deemed unsafe, leading the ship’s commanding officer to temporarily suspend flight operations.
The following day, two Russian fighter jets conducted what officials described as "simulated attacks" on the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, flying within 30 feet of the Navy ship. "This was more aggressive than anything we’ve seen in some time," a defense official told the Military Times of the incident on Tuesday.
Military officials have publicly rebuked the Russian jet maneuvers as "unsafe" and "unprofessional." The Navy also released videos of the close encounters on YouTube.
Secretary of State John Kerry said last week that the U.S. ship could have shot down the Russian jets under U.S. military rules of engagement.
"People need to understand that this is serious business and the United States is not going to be intimidated on the high seas," Kerry told CNN Espanol on Thursday. "We are communicating to the Russians how dangerous this is and our hope is that this will never be repeated."
Russian defense officials have dismissed U.S. criticisms of the overflights.
The conversation between Obama and Putin on Monday took place as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Syrian opposition groups engage in another round of peace talks sponsored by the U.N.
Both the White House and the Kremlin said that the presidents agreed to ensure that both sides abide by a ceasefire agreement brokered in February.