The strong man in the Kremlin replied that most hacker attacks come from the United States
Joe Biden pointed out 16 untouchable infrastructure sectors to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, warning that if one of them is hit, a cyber war from the United States will follow. This became clear at the press conference after the face-to-face meeting between the presidents of the United States and Russia in Geneva, world agencies reported.
Biden himself said it was about energy and the water system, for example, but US cybersecurity experts said it was also about the chemical industry, military installations and nuclear reactors, the financial system, dams, health care, transportation and important government institutions.
“I looked at him (Putin) and said, ‘How would you feel if you did?’
blackmailers
attack yours
oil pipelines?
I pointed out to him that we have significant cybercapacity. And he knows this well, “the US president added, explaining that he did not threaten military force during the talks. Before Biden, warnings about the activities of Russian hackers were issued this week during the G-7 forum and the NATO meeting.
This type of attack has become more frequent in the United States in recent weeks. One of them was aimed at an important American oil pipeline and caused panic due to temporary difficulties with fuel supplies. Another was against the world’s largest meat producer. In both cases, large ransoms were demanded. The issue of interference in the 2016 US election, which Putin has always denied, remains hot. Not to mention the intrusion into Solar Winds’ servers, uncovered last year, in which hackers believed to be Russians hacked into numerous US government networks and forced Biden to impose additional US sanctions on Russia. That is why in Geneva, the American leader was expected to really put pressure on his interlocutor on the issue of cybercrime.
At his separate press conference, which he gave first, Putin deftly escaped the issue of specific attacks and even announced the news that an agreement had been reached to hold expert bilateral consultations on the subject. The Russian president said most cyberattacks in the world were carried out from the United States, Canada, Britain and two Latin American countries, while Russia was not on the list. Putin added that the data belonged to an American organization.
Both interlocutors
determined
the conversations
with each other
as parts and
constructive,
although it is clear that their positions remain uncompromising on key issues, as is the issue of human rights and the fate of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. At his press conference, Biden reiterated the US thesis that if Navalny dies, it will have catastrophic consequences for Moscow. According to him, Russia is “desperately trying to maintain its status” on the world stage. “If something happens to Navalny in prison, Moscow will pay the price of losing that status,” he said.
Without hesitation, however, Putin declared that “on the occasion of the citizen you mentioned” (the Russian president never mentions Navalny by name), “he deliberately made him be detained” because he had been given a suspended sentence and should have to appear periodically before the authorities. “Deliberately ignoring the law, he went abroad for treatment,” Putin said, prompting the oppositionist’s wife to post a photo on social media of doctors driving in a capsule to the plane in a coma after Navalny’s poisoning. Later, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that during the talks it was not a question of exchanging the Kremlin’s number one enemy against Russians detained in the United States.
With regard to the repression of political opponents, the strong man in Moscow took the position that the attack was the best defense. He spoke of the unrest in the United States and that there “they shoot before you even open your mouth.”
A curious detail is that and
Putin, and Biden
reacted with
irritation
to questions of
journalists
from CNN. Putin was outraged by Steve Rosenberg’s question as to why the West considered Russia’s foreign policy unpredictable. “If the West thinks so, that doesn’t mean it really is,” he said.
Biden, on the other hand, came into conflict with journalist Caitlin Collins, who asked him why he was convinced that his Russian counterpart would change his behavior. “I am not convinced that he will change his behavior. Where the hell… What have you been doing all this time? When did I say I was convinced? I said that their behavior would change if the rest of the world reacted, and that lowered their status in the world. I’m not convinced of anything, I’m just stating the facts, “the American leader lost his temper. Collins did not remain obligated, adding that Putin had denied involvement in the cyberattacks, downplayed human rights abuses and did not even name Navalny. “Is this called a constructive meeting?” The reporter asked rhetorically.
In the end, both heads of state indicated that they had no illusions of any significant change in relations. Putin said President Biden had not invited him to visit him, nor had he invited him to Moscow. “Conditions must be ripe for such visits,” the Russian leader concluded.
They pledged to reduce the risk of a nuclear apocalypse
Although they gave separate press conferences, the presidents of the United States and Russia issued a joint statement.
“Even in times of tension, the United States and Russia have shown that they are capable of making progress toward common goals of ensuring predictability in the strategic realm, reducing the risks of armed conflict and the threat of nuclear war,” the statement said. An example is the recent extension of the new START contract. In the future, working groups on both sides will decide on the composition, location and frequency of nuclear talks. Biden put it this way: “We will bring together our military and diplomatic experts to gain control of new and dangerous weapons systems.” Currently, New START is the only effective treaty to limit strategic offensive weapons between Moscow and Washington.
As soon as he came to power in January, Joe Biden took steps to extend the 5-year contract, which expired on February 5, and Trump had threatened not to renew it. The New START Treaty allows each of the two countries to keep operational no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads operational and provides for comprehensive inspections. Signed in 2010 by then-US and Russian presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, it reduced the number of nuclear warheads deployed by nearly 30 percent from the previous maximum set in 2002. New START allows Washington and Moscow to have up to 800 launchers and heavy bombers, of which a maximum of 700 can be operational. New START is a continuation of the START 1 agreement, signed by George W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991 just five months before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and START 2, re-signed by Bush Sr. and Boris Yeltsin in 1993.
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