US President Joe Biden said that the United States is facing Russia’s determination to harm American democracy. He spoke about this during his speech at the State Department, reports TASS.
Biden noted that the days have passed when the United States hesitated in an effort to achieve consequences for those steps by Russia that Washington does not consider to be in its interests. He stressed that the new US administration will seek to increase costs for Russia and protect the vital interests of the Americans, as well as themselves.
The President added that US action on Russia will be even more effective when it works in coalition with other partners who share similar views.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during his first telephone conversation with the new US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, said that Moscow is open for joint work to normalize the entire range of bilateral relations. Representatives of both states expressed their readiness to eliminate the accumulated difficulties in the functioning of the diplomatic missions of Russia and the United States on the territory of their countries.