The call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Joe Biden did not go as smoothly as Biden might have liked, although he was ready to air grievances in preparation for a diplomatic reset.
"Conditions haven't been created yet to reset," Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, Newsweek reported. "It's enough that the presidents took note of a rather large number of serious disagreements and emphasized the need to maintain dialogue.
"There is no reason to talk about resetting relations at the moment."
Moscow has announced Russia and U.S. have an agreement to extend the arms control treaty that was set to expire next month after former President Donald Trump's refusal to discuss an extension despite Russia's desire to, per the report.
The White House readout of the Biden call boasted tough stances.
"President Biden reaffirmed the United States' firm support for Ukraine's sovereignty," the readout said, per Newsweek.
"He also raised other matters of concern, including the SolarWinds hack, reports of Russia placing bounties on United States soldiers in Afghanistan, interference in the 2020 United States election and the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.
"President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies.
"The two presidents agreed to maintain transparent and consistent communication going forward."
The Biden administration has made a firm call for the immediate release of Navalny, who has been detained by Russia, but Putin "provided all necessary explanations" to Biden, Peskov said, per Newsweek.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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