Biden, Putin Hold First Phone Talks

By Staff, Agencies

US President Joe Biden in his first phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin since taking office raised concerns over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Russian "aggression" against Ukraine, the White House said Tuesday.

Biden placed the call to discuss with Putin "our willingness to extend" for five years the New START nuclear weapons treaty, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

He also brought up "our strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty in the face of Russia's ongoing aggression," Psaki said.

Biden raised other "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."

Putin for his part told Biden that he supports "normalization" of relations between their two countries, the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin in the call "noted that the normalization of relations between Russia and the United States would meet the interests of both countries" and "the entire international community."