Biden and Putin agree to extend the U.S.-Russia arms control deal
In his first phone call with Vladimir Putin since taking office, President Biden raised his concerns over Russia’s suspected involvement in a massive cyber breach as well as election interference in the United Statese.
Biden specifically mentioned the issue of the SolarWinds hack, according to a White House statement. The phone call with Putin included a discussion over the poisoning and the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
However, the two leaders did agree to extend the U.S.-Russia arms control deal, New START, which is set to expire February 2021. They also agreed to explore strategic stability discussions on a range of arms control and emerging security issues.
“The two presidents agreed to maintain transparent and consistent communication going forward” the White House said.
U.S. President Biden in his first call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussed a range of topics, including arms control, reports of Russian bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan and interference in the 2020 election, the White House said.
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.
