U.S. President Joe Biden has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “killer” who will “pay” for interfering in the 2020 presidential election in an ABC News interview that aired Wednesday.
His pre-taped remarks aired after the U.S. intelligence community’s first assessment of foreign interference in the campaign. The report said Putin likely authorized influence operations aimed at promoting then-President Donald Trump and discrediting Biden’s candidacy.
“He will pay a price,” Biden said in response to the findings.
Biden said he had warned Putin of potential consequences to election meddling when the two spoke following his inauguration in January.
“We had a long talk, he and I, when we — I know him relatively well. And the conversation started off, I said, ‘I know you and you know me. If I establish this [interference] occurred, then be prepared.”
Asked by host George Stephanopoulos whether he thinks the Russian president is a “killer,” Biden replied: “I do.”
“The price he’s going to pay, you’ll see shortly,” he added without giving further detail.
He noted that there are still areas in which Moscow and Washington can find common ground despite the two powers’ chilled relations.
“There are places where it’s in our mutual interest to work together,” he said. “That’s why I renewed the [New] START agreement. That occurred while he’s doing this.”
Biden also described his March 2011 meeting with Putin, who was then Russia’s prime minister, saying: “President Bush had said I looked in his eyes and saw his soul. I said look in your eyes, and I don’t think you have a soul. He looked back and he said, ‘We understand each other’.”
The U.S. intelligence report’s findings are likely to be followed by the Biden administration’s announcement of new sanctions as soon as next week, CNN and Reuters reported, citing unnamed officials.
Biden did not elaborate on the possible Russian sanctions during the ABC News interview.
Biden’s comments drew immediate condemnation from the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin, who called them an “attack on Russia” and “hysteria due to weakness.”
(c) The Moscow Times
“Biden’s comments drew immediate condemnation from the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin, who called them an “attack on Russia” and “hysteria due to weakness.”
Really? Calling Putler a killer is the least that can be pinned on him. Thief, liar, terrorist, dictator, poisoner, invader, and the list goes on. If this is hysteria due to weakness, why all the whining like little babies? Surely big tough Russia can handle a few sanctions?
Every sanction make Russia stronger, why do they fear a new one? 😉
I like the statement by Biden, be prepared. The Kremlin will be panicking like hell, wondering what will hit them. I hope it’s not just words thrown at Putin.
‘I said look in your eyes, and I don’t think you have a soul. He looked back and he said, ‘We understand each other’.
Does anyone seriously believe that conversation actually took place, or was it all in Joe’s imagination?
It might not have happened, but calling Putin a killer on national TV, makes a change from some of the crap Trump come out with regarding Putin.
Agreed. Such as :
‘he’s a great guy’
And:
‘The people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.’
Even worse : as a final kick in the teeth to Ukraine, he pardoned two serious criminals who just happened to be 40 year friends of his.
Those crimInals were of course Manafort and Stone, who share equal culpability with putler for the death and misery inflicted upon Ukraine over the last 7 years.
His comments, recorded Tuesday, came the same day as a U.S. intelligence community report that Putin ordered influence operations to hurt Biden’s candidacy, favoring former President Donald Trump just as the intelligence community says the Russian leader did in 2016 against then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The report states ;
Despite threats, foreign hackers didn’t disrupt the 2020 US Presidential election, according to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.However, it added: “We identified some successful compromises of state and local government networks prior to Election Day.”We assess these intrusions were parts of broader campaigns targeting US networks and not directed at the election.”Some foreign actors, such as Iran and Russia, spread false or inflated claims about alleged compromises of voting systems to try to undermine public confidence in election processes and results.”We assess that President Putin and other senior Russian officials were aware of and probably directed Russia’s influence operations against the 2020 US Presidential Election.”The primary effort the IC uncovered revolved around the narrative – that Russian actors began spreading as early as 2014 – alleging corrupt ties between President Biden, his family, and other US officials and Ukraine.”Russian intelligence services relied on Ukraine-linked proxies and these proxies’ networks – including their US contacts – to spread this narrative to give Moscow plausible deniability of their involvement.”We assess that the goals of this effort went beyond the US presidential campaign to include reducing the Trump administration’s support for Ukraine.”As the US presidential election neared, Moscow placed increasing emphasis on undermining the candidate it saw as most detrimental to its global interests.”We have no evidence suggesting the Ukrainian Government was involved in any of these efforts.”
The Crimea was annexed under Obama, Biden was vice back then. Obama told Ukraine not to engage the invaders. What Trump got to do with this? Biden is GUILTY! Cheers!
We only know Trump from when Crimea was already lost. We do not know how Trump (or McCain) would have responded if they were in charge back then.
Well, Obumer’s former right hand has taken a good step towards mafia land, other than what either Obumer or the Trumpet ever did. We’ll see if Biden will follow up with some serious consequences for the killer Pew-tin.