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Biden, Putin Hold First Phone Discussions

Ken Bredemeier

   WASHINGTON - For the first time since his inauguration, U.S. President
   Joe Biden spoke Tuesday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, expressing
   concerns about the arrest of dissident Alexei Navalny, Moscow's
   cyber-espionage campaign and bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan,
   two senior Biden administration officials said.

   Biden's stance appeared to mark another sharp break with that of former
   President Donald Trump, who often voiced delight at his warm relations
   with the Kremlin leader. At the same time, according to U.S. accounts
   of the call, Biden told Putin that Russia and the United States should
   complete a five-year extension of their nuclear arms control treaty
   before it expires in early February.

   There was no immediate readout of the call from Moscow, but Russia
   reached out to Biden in the first days of his four-year term in the
   White House. The U.S. leader agreed but only after he had prepared with
   his staff and had a chance for phone calls with three close Western
   allies of the U.S. -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French
   President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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