Putin's First Conversation with Biden as US President

The American and Russian versions of two Presidents' conversation are slightly different. The White House said the conversation mentioned interference in election and other controversial issues. The telephone conversation between the Presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, took place for the first time since Biden's inauguration. "Vladimir Putin congratulated Joseph Biden on the start of his term as US President. He noted that normalization of relations between Russia and the United States would meet the interests of both countries and, considering their special responsibility for maintaining global security and stability, of the entire international community," the statement on the Kremlin’s website says. The conversation between the Russian and US leaders was businesslike and frank, the press service of the Russian president noted. The participants in the conversation expressed satisfaction over the reached agreement to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. In addition, the presidents discussed the US withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty, the problems of the Iranian nuclear deal, the situation in Ukraine, as well as the Russian initiative to hold a summit of permanent members of the UN Security Council. The White House confirmed the fact of the conversation, but noted that Biden "expressed concern" about the Russian leadership's activities, including the detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. "He called President Putin this afternoon to discuss our desire to extend the New START nuclear arms treaty for five years, to reaffirm our strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, and to raise concerns, including the SolarWinds hack, reports that Russians offered bounties for killing US troops in Afghanistan, interference in the 2020 elections, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and the treatment of protesters by Russian security forces," US President's spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a briefing. After the November 3 elections and before Joe Biden's inauguration, Putin had not talked to him, but sent congratulatory telegrams on the occasion of his victory in the US presidential election on December 15, and on the occasion of Christmas and New Year.