Biden Made His First Call To Putin After Years Of Trump Coddling Russian Leader
(TalkingPointsMemo) White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that President Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss, among other matters, renewing a soon-to-expire nuclear arsenal treaty and the recently reported massive SolarWinds hack.
“I will just convey to you that he called him,” Psaki said, adding that the conversation was initiated to put forward the country’s “willingness” to extend a nuclear arms agreement know as the New START, which is quickly approaching expiration. The pact, set to expire on Feb. 5, is the only remaining treaty limiting the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.
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See the full White House readout below:
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. They discussed both countries’ willingness to extend New START for five years, agreeing to have their teams work urgently to complete the extension by February 5. They also agreed to explore strategic stability discussions on a range of arms control and emerging security issues. President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ firm support for Ukraine’s sovereignty. He also raised other matters of concern, including the SolarWinds hack, reports of Russia placing bounties on United States soldiers in Afghanistan, interference in the 2020 United States election, and the poisoning of Aleksey Navalny. President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies. The two presidents agreed to maintain transparent and consistent communication going forward.
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