[Source: CNN]
US President Joe Biden held his first call with his Russian counterpart, confronting President Vladimir Putin over a range of issues including a massive cyber-attack.
A white house representative says the call, amounted to Biden’s opening bid at diplomacy with one of his chief adversaries, whom he has met previously but not dealt with as an equal
“I will just convey to you that he called President Putin this afternoon with the intention of discussing our willingness to extend a new start for 5 years and also to reaffirm our strong support for Ukraine sovereignty in the face of Russias ongoing aggression and also to raise matters of concern including the solar winds heck reports of Russia placing bounties on United States soldiers in Afganistan, interference in the 2020 election, the poisoning of Alexey Navalny and treatment of peaceful protestors but Russian security forces. His intention was also to make clear that the United States will act firmly in defence of our National interest.”
The lengthy list of topics for Biden’s first conversation with Putin illustrates the troubled state of affairs between Washington and Moscow that he inherited from the previous administration.
Biden has accused his predecessor, President Donald Trump, of being too weak on Russia, accusing him of being “Putin’s puppy” during one of their general election debates.
Biden hopes to take a firmer line with Putin, officials have said. He’s ordered a review from administration agencies on issues related to Russia and could impose new sanctions on the country.
