President Joe Biden hit Russia with sanctions and diplomatic expulsions for its cyberattack and its interference in United States elections.
“We cannot allow a foreign power to interfere in our democratic process with impunity,” President Biden said.
“My bottom line is this: There is an interest in the United States to work with Russia. We should and we will,” Biden said in remarks to the press.
But “when Russia seeks to violate the interests of the United States, we will respond,” he said. “I was clear with President Putin that we could have gone further, but I chose not to do so. I chose to be proportionate.”
According to the Associated Press, President Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone to discuss the sanctions.
“We believe that all together, both the actions we are taking today and that broader diplomacy can produce a better set of outcomes for US-Russia relations,” Jake Sullivan told John Berman on “New Day.”
The president imposed sanctions on six Russian companies and 32 individuals and entities accused of attempting to interfere with the presidential election and spreading misinformation. 10 Russian diplomats were expelled.
“The issue is, how can we push back against Putin’s aggression, while at the same time keeping open channels of communication and continuing to cooperate with Russia in areas of mutual interest,” Daniel Fried, a former assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said. “And it seems to me the Biden administration has done a pretty good job framing up the relationship in exactly this way.”