President Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to address a wide range of national security topics, including the renewal of a nuclear weapons treaty, rewards made to American soldiers in Afghanistan and interference in elections 2020.
Biden’s first step in rebuilding diplomacy with one of the main US opponents was to put the US and Russia back on the table and agree to a five-year extension of his only remaining nuclear weapons treaty.
MCFARLAND: IRAN HAS ‘NO LEFT REMAINING’ TO PRESS US TO RESTART NUCLEAR BUSINESS 2015
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as START, was undermined last year when the Trump administration initially said it would not agree to renew the treaty that would expire in February unless China was brought to an agreement – a move that China categorically rejected it.
President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the original 1987 nuclear weapons treaty with Russia in October 2018, claiming that the former Soviet nation was not doing its part in the bargain, leaving only the New START treaty in progress.
The White House confirmed on Tuesday that both the United States and Russia “will work urgently” to complete the extension by the February 5 deadline.
The two nations “also agreed to explore strategic stability discussions on a range of arms control and emerging security issues,” the White House confirmed in a statement.
But Biden touched on other difficult topics in his first call to Putin since joining the White House last week.
The SolarWinds hack – one of the biggest cyber security violations in U.S. history, by alleged Russian government perpetrators – was on Tuesday’s agenda, along with the supposed Russian reward placed on American soldiers in Afghanistan last year.
“President Biden has made it clear that the United States will act strongly in defending its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies,” the White House said in a statement.
Biden accused his predecessor of being weak with Russia, calling Trump “Putin’s dog” during the first presidential debate last year, criticizing him for not taking decisive action after reports of rewards made to American soldiers in Afghanistan emerged.
The newly installed president also confirmed the US position in supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, condemning the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.
Putin did not publicly comment on the phone call he had with Biden on Tuesday, but the Kremlin released a statement noting that the “normalization of relations” between the two superpowers was not just for the benefit of their relationship, but “to maintain security. and stability, of the entire international community. “
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Biden also addressed concerns about the intelligence community’s reports of a repeat of Russian interference in the 2020 general election. The president’s decision to address electoral interference in Putin is in direct contrast to Trump’s response to reports of electoral interference in 2016 – at one point suggesting that he trusted Putin’s word about US intelligence officers.
Biden said he would make restoring US diplomacy the cornerstone of his presidency, improving relations with allied nations and expanding treaties with opponents like Russia and Iran.