Biden said during comments at the White House that he had told Russian President Vladimir Putin in an appeal earlier this week that he could have gone ahead with the measures. Although he wanted to avoid mounting tensions, Biden made it clear that he will not hesitate to take further action in the future.
“We cannot allow a foreign power to interfere with our democratic process with impunity,” said Biden.
The president said the US “does not intend to initiate a cycle of escalation and conflict in Russia. We want a stable, predictable relationship,” before sending a warning: “If Russia continues to interfere with our democracy, its we willing to take further action to respond. “
Biden did offer an olive branch referring to the summit he proposed with the Russian leader, which he hopes will take place in Europe later this summer.
“Now is the time to de-escalate,” he said. “The way forward is through thoughtful dialogue and a diplomatic process.”
As part of Thursday’s announcement, the US formally named Russia’s foreign intelligence agency as the force behind the SolarWinds hack that hit the federal government and broad parts of the private sector. The White House also said it is expelling 10 Russian diplomats from Washington, including “representatives of Russian intelligence” over the cyber hack and election interference.
The Biden government prohibits US financial institutions from participating in the primary market for bonds issued by Russia’s central bank and other leading financial institutions. The US is also sanctioning six Russian technology companies supporting the Russian intelligence agencies’ cyber program, as well as 32 entities and individuals for carrying out “ Russian government-led attempts to influence the 2020 US presidential election, ” the government said. sheet. A further eight individuals and entities are being punished for “Russia’s continued occupation and oppression in Crimea”.
It is not clear to what extent the measures taken by the Biden government will change Putin’s behavior. Biden did not immediately answer whether the Russian president gave him any indication that he was willing to change, but told CNN’s Phil Mattingly that he urged Putin to “respond appropriately.”
“We said we would talk about it,” Biden said in response to Mattingly’s question about Putin’s attitude.
“I urged him to respond appropriately, not to exceed because we can also move. My hope and expectation is that we can work out modus vivendi, but it is important that we have direct conversations and that we stay in touch with each other,” Biden added.
The president stressed that there are places where the US and Russia can work together. Quoting the New START treaty between the two nations, he is working to “contain nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea, end this pandemic worldwide and face the existential crisis of climate change.”
“It is in the interest of the United States to work with Russia – we should and we will. If Russia tries to violate the interests of the United States, we will respond. We will always defend our country, our institutions.” , our people and our allies, ”Biden said.
The White House has also addressed the omission of sanctions against Russia on other issues.
In the run-up to the possible summer summit, Biden can participate in meetings with Putin next week. The Russian president is one of dozens of world leaders invited to a virtual summit on climate change organized by the White House.
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) rejected the US intelligence agency’s determination that it was responsible for the SolarWinds hack, Russian state news agency TASS reported Thursday.
A statement released ahead of Biden’s comments was signed by the SVR’s head of press and was entitled “Cinema And That’s It” – a nod to the SVR’s assessment of US intelligence as fiction. considers. TASS reported that the SVR finds the US determination “far-fetched” and “nonsense”.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Maegan Vazquez, Zahra Ullah and Olga Pavlova contributed to this report.