Moscow/Washington/New York: Russia today resorted to tit-for-tat measures by recommending expulsion of 10 US diplomats and that the US ambassador in Moscow leave the country for ‘consultation’, a day after American President Joe Biden expelled 10 Russian diplomats yesterday for their interference in last year’s US presidential elections.
The US sanctions imposed on Russia the day before also figured in Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with permanent members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation today, Kremlin informed. The meeting was also attended by Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces – First Deputy Defence Minister Valery Gerasimov.
Biden, on April 15, 2021 approved several steps, including expulsion of several Russian officials, signing an executive order authorising new measures, including sanctions to address specific harmful actions that he claimed Russia had taken against U.S. interests.
“During the campaign for my — for the presidency, I was unequivocal that if I was elected President, I’d respond to any attempt to influence our elections — the last election — and — because elections are sacred. They’re sovereign undertakings, and they’re an expression of the will of the American people, and we cannot allow a foreign power to interfere in our democratic process with impunity,” Biden stated.
Also read: Why is Russia building up troops on Ukrainian border now?
Biden yesterday also referred to his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week: “And I told him: If it turned out that the invest- — as I thought — that there was engagement in our elections, that I would — that I’d respond.”
He added: “When President Putin called me in January, after I was sworn in, to congratulate me, I told him that my administration — we were looking very carefully, now that we had access to all the data, at the issues that — to assess Russia’s role and then determine what response we would make… When we spoke again this week, I told him that we would shortly be responding in a measured and proportionate way because we had concluded that they had interfered in the election and SolarWinds was totally out of the — inappropriate.”
Biden made it clear that the United States was not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia. “We want a stable, predictable relationship,” he said but warned that “If Russia continues to interfere with our democracy, I’m prepared to take further actions to respond. It is my responsibility, as President of the United States, to do so.”
Biden also expressed concern about Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s border and in “occupied Crimea”. He said he had also made clear to President Putin that the United States was unwavering in its support of its allies and partners in Europe. “I affirmed U.S. support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. And I strongly urged him to refrain from any military action,” he said.
At the same time,Biden said now was the time to de-escalate. “The way forward is through thoughtful dialogue and diplomatic process. The U.S. is prepared to continue constructively to move forward that process,” he said but added: “My bottom line is this: Where it is in the interest of the United States to work with Russia, we should and we will. Where Russia seeks to violate the interests of the United States, we will respond. And we’ll always stand in defense of our country, our institutions, our people, and our allies.”
Responding to the US sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, said in Moscow, that Russia had “repeatedly warned” the United States “about the consequences of its hostile moves that are dangerously raising the level of confrontation between our countries. This course of action does not serve the interests of the people of the two leading nuclear powers that bear historical responsibility for the fate of the world.”
She added: “The United States is not ready to accept the objective reality of a multipolar world in which American hegemony is not possible. It is placing its bets on sanctions pressure and interference in our domestic affairs.
“This aggressive conduct will certainly meet with resolute resistance. There will inevitably be a response to the sanctions. Washington must realise that it will have to pay for the degradation of bilateral relations. Responsibility for what is happening fully rests with the United States.” While US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan was summoned to the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation yesterday, it may be mentioned that last month Russia had already recalled its ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, from United States after Biden agreed in a television interview that Putin was “a killer”.
Following the fresh escalation in ties between the two super powers, all eyes are now in Biden’s proposal to Putin of a summit meeting this summer in Europe to address a range of issues facing both of the countries. Already, as Biden disclosed, both teams were discussing that possibility right now.
At the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told journalists in New York after the US’s move yesterday: “We’re, obviously, well aware of the tensions between the United States and Russia and actions taken in that regard. We continue to underscore the need for collaboration, for cooperation between the United States and the Russian Federation in… especially given their importance in the world, their importance as two permanent members of the Security Council that have quite a large influence on the world as it stands today. And we will continue to do whatever we can to support that cooperation,”
The United Nations has also expressed its “direct and very real concern” about the build-up of tensions and the increase of tensions in Ukraine. “For us, it’s very important that the ceasefire along the line of contact be respected and that any provocation be avoided for the sake of the people of Ukraine and especially those in the eastern part. And we’ve often talked to you about the humanitarian situation on the ground and one that is not getting better,” Dujarric told journalists.
– global bihari bureau
