The new US President Joe Biden met on Tuesday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time since entering the White House, to raise several issues at the heart of tensions between the two rival countries.
According to the White House, the two leaders "mentioned the will of the two countries to extend New Start (
Editor's note: the bilateral disarmament treaty which expires in early February
) for five years, and agreed to make their teams work urgently for a extension by February 5.
The Democratic President also said he was ready to "consider discussions on strategic stability on a series of issues related to arms control and security."
He stands out on this ground from his Republican predecessor, who had failed to renew New Start - or did not want to do so - and had withdrawn from other treaties.
Donald Trump had notably slammed the door with a crash of the international Iranian nuclear agreement, of which Moscow is one of the signatories.
US support "for the sovereignty of Ukraine"
Beyond these subjects, Joe Biden raised all the angry questions.
He thus "reaffirmed our firm support for the sovereignty of Ukraine in the face of persistent Russian aggression," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The American president also expressed his concern about the "poisoning" of Alexey Navalny, the Russian opponent arrested by Moscow on January 17 on his return to Russia after a five-month convalescence in Germany, as well as the "treatment. peaceful demonstrators by Russian security forces ”.
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The G7 countries, including the United States, condemned this Tuesday in a joint statement the "political" detention of this opponent poisoned at the end of August with a nerve agent.
they called for his "immediate and unconditional release", as well as that of his supporters arrested Saturday during demonstrations across Russia.
Subjects minimized by Donald Trump
Joe Biden then spoke, according to his spokesperson, of the “interference in the 2020 election” in the United States, the recent giant cyberattack against American ministries attributed by Washington to Moscow, and information according to which Russia would have paid “bounties” to the Taliban to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.
So many subjects minimized by Donald Trump, despite the general indignation they arouse in the American political class.
"President Biden has made it clear that the United States will act decisively to defend our national interests in the face of Russian actions that would harm us or our allies," the White House added in a statement.
In a separate appeal with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, he called for “strengthening transatlantic security” and pledged to “work with the allies”, especially to counter Russia.
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As he does regularly, Vladimir Putin, for his part, said he supported "a normalization of relations between Russia and the United States" which, according to him, "would meet the interests of both countries but also those of the entire international community, given their special responsibility in maintaining security and stability in the world, ”the Russian presidency reported.