U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have held their first phone call since Biden took office last week.
During the call, announced by White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki at her daily briefing on January 26, Biden raised concerns about Russian activities, including the treatment of jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny.
Psaki added that Biden also said that Washington has “strong support for Ukraine sovereignty” in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.
The Kremlin confirmed the call in a statement on its website saying Putin congratulated Biden on taking over at the White House on January 20 and that both men “expressed satisfaction” in connection with the exchange of diplomatic notes on reaching an agreement on the extension of the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms (New START).