Biden talks directly to Putin

WASHINGTON: United States President Joe Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday for the first time since taking office and raised concerns about Russian activities including the treatment of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the White House said.

A White House statement said the two leaders agreed to have their teams work to complete the extension of the New Start arms control treaty between the US and Russia by February 5, when the current pact expires.

The phone call came as Biden adjusts US policy in a more robust way towards Russia after his predecessor, Donald Trump, refused to take on Putin directly.

At the same time, Biden sought to repair the strained alliance between the US and Europe by stressing in a phone call with Nato Secretarygeneral Jens Stoltenberg that Washington would abide by the Nato treaty’s mutual defence pact.

In the Putin phone call, the White House said, topics included Biden’s proposal to extend the New Start nuclear arms treaty with Russia for five years and ‘‘strong (US) support for Ukraine sovereignty’’ in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

The arms control treaty limits the US and Russia to deploying no more than 1550 strategic nuclear warheads each.

Biden voiced concern about interference in the 2020 presidential election, as well as the Solar Winds cyberattack blamed on Moscow and reports Russians offered bounties to the Taliban for killing US troops in Afghanistan. — Reuters