President Biden brought up numerous issues with Putin in their first phone call and made it clear that Russia’s free ride is over.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki described the call to reporters:
Biden stands up to Putin and puts him on notice on several issues including the Russian bounties on US troops in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/aqjHHsaLz4
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) January 26, 2021
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Psaki said:
I can confirm the call was scheduled. The call has happened, I believe, since I have come out here, we will, of course, be putting a readout of the call out but since you gave me the opportunity, I will just convey to you that he called him — called president Putin this afternoon with the intention of discussing our willingness to extend new START for five years, and also to reaffirm our strong support for Ukraine sovereignty in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression and also to raise matters of concern, including the solar winds hack, reports of Russia placing bounties on United States soldiers in Afghanistan, interference in the 2020 election, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and treatment of peaceful protesters by Russian security forces.
His intention was also to make clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of our national interests in response to malign actions by Russia. But we’ll have a readout for you. I assume sometime early this afternoon.
Trump didn’t bring up the Russian bounties on US soldiers. In fact, he refused to believe that it happened. Trump never defended Ukraine or discussed the massive Russian hack on US governmental systems. In fact, Trump never stood up to Putin at all.
America now has a president who puts America first, and that means defending the US and punishing Russian aggression.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
