FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis testifies before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on funding for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday he was considering the possibility of the first talks in years between the defense chiefs of the United States and Russia, a possibility first reported by Reuters on July 17.

“I am considering meeting with my counterpart, but there’s been no decision,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon.

The last time a U.S. defense secretary even spoke telephonically with a Russian defense minister was in 2015, as relations between Moscow and Washington soured. It was not immediately clear when the last face-to-face meeting took place.