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Biden (left) and Putin at the summit in Geneva
Photo: DENIS BALIBOUSE / POOL / EPA
US President Joe Biden warned Russian head of state Vladimir Putin at the summit in Geneva, in his own words, against Moscow interfering in US elections.
The US would “not tolerate” a violation of their “democratic sovereignty” and “destabilization” of their elections, said Biden after his meeting with Putin.
At the same time, he emphasized that the tone of the conversation with Putin was "good" and "positive".
Biden also reported that he had indicated to Putin that the US would continue to denounce human rights violations in Russia.
He told Putin in Geneva that he had no agenda against Russia.
"It's not about attacking Russia when they violate human rights."
It is about defending democratic values.
No president of the United States could maintain the confidence of the American people if it did not do so.
“It's just part of our country's DNA.
So human rights will always be on the table, I told him, ”Biden said.
There must be some "basic rules" that everyone obeys.
Agreement on arms control talks
As the two largest nuclear powers, the USA and Russia have agreed on new strategic arms control talks. "I'm delighted that we agreed today to launch a bilateral strategic stability dialogue," said Joe Biden. Military experts and diplomats from both countries should work on a mechanism that could lead to the control of new and highly developed weapons. The talks on strategic stability are seen as an important signal for global security.
The USA recently passed several agreements because Russia is said to have failed to adhere to the rules.
Moscow rejected this and repeatedly warned that an exit from the agreements could lead to an arms race.
For example, under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, the USA withdrew from the INF treaty banning land-based medium-range nuclear weapons (read more here).
Cyber security advice
In the face of great tensions over alleged Russian hacker attacks on American government agencies and companies, the US and Russia want to start talks on cybersecurity. Biden said he had agreed with Putin that their governments begin deliberations on the issue. It should be about addressing specific cases and defining goals that should be taboo for attacks. Biden said that certain critical infrastructure should be excluded. He also appealed again that responsible states must take action against the perpetrators of ransomware attacks.
The US blames Russian secret services for a massive hacker attack on government departments, agencies and companies in the US.
Moscow had denied the allegations and offered to investigate allegations and cooperate on cybersecurity.
Putin also repeatedly complained about cyber attacks against Russian authorities.
as / AFP / dpa
