In his first telephone conversation since taking office, US President Joe Biden raised the issue of the detained Russian opposition leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin, among other issues.
The White House quoted the Associated Press as saying that Biden had expressed concern about the arrest of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s opposition leader.
According to the White House, the two leaders discussed issues such as Russia’s alleged involvement in a large-scale cyber-espionage operation and the Russian cost of killing US troops in Afghanistan.
He said Russia was focused on responding to Biden’s proposal to extend the final arms control agreement between the United States and Russia.
The two presidents agreed that urgent work was needed to complete the five-year extension of the New Start Nuclear Weapons Treaty, which expires next month.
The letter, issued by the two bosses, emphasized the need for caution in the early stages of relations between the United States and Russia over Biden’s arrival, and sought to improve the already strained relations between the two countries. So don’t rush.
The White House said President Biden made it clear that the United States would act strongly in defense of its national interests in response to actions that harm Russia or its allies.
Officials say Biden told the Russian president over the phone that the United States would defend itself and take action, which could include further sanctions to ensure that Moscow does not work with immunity.
On the other hand, the red issue issued by Russia did not discuss the controversial issues between the two countries.
It said the leaders of the two countries discussed “important issues on the bilateral and international agenda”.
Russia called the telephone conversation “friendly and business-like.”
It also said that the Russian president had congratulated Biden on becoming president and said that normalization of relations between Russia and the United States would benefit the interests of both countries.