Biden’s ‘not so good’ phone call with Putin

US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held their first conversation as counterparts Tuesday in a phone call that underscored troubled relations and the delicate balance between the for mer Cold War foes.

According to the White House, Biden raised concer ns about the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, Russia's alleged involvement in a massive cyber espionage campaign and reports of Russian bounties on American troops in Afghanistan. The Kremlin, meanwhile, focused on Putin's response to Biden's proposal to extend the last remaining USRussia ar ms control treaty.

While the readouts from the two capitals emphasised different elements, they both suggested that USRussia relations will be guided, at least at the beginning of the Biden administration, by a desire to do no har m but also no urgency to repair existing damage.