Biden believes Russia’s economic problems make Putin even more dangerous

Russia is struggling due to the limited nature of its economy, and this increases the threat posed by Moscow, said US President Joe Biden in an address to the American intelligence community. Transcript of the President’s speech published on the White House website.

“I met with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who has a real problem – he has an economy with nuclear weapons and oil wells and nothing else. She is the eighth largest in the world – he knows that he is in a really difficult position, and this, in my opinion, makes him even more dangerous, ”said the American president.

He also expressed the opinion that the American special services work better than the Russian ones, and Russia knows about it. “As you all know, I recently had a meeting with a very close friend, Vladimir Putin. [Смех в зале.] He knows that you are better than his own team, and this worries him greatly, “- said the US President, referring to the American intelligence officers.

Joe Biden said Russia is “already spreading misinformation” about the November 2022 US congressional elections. The American leader called it “an open violation of our sovereignty.”

The US President stressed the importance of combating cyber threats: “I think that if we enter into open war with a major power, it will be the result of a serious cybercrime. And the likelihood of this is growing exponentially. “

In addition, Biden in his speech raised the topic of China, noting that he spent more time negotiating with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping than anyone else. According to the American president, Xi Jinping is “extremely serious about” making China the leading power in the world, both militarily and economically. transfers Interfax.

At the same time, Biden spoke in favor of cooperation with the Russian Federation and the PRC on some global problems. “We must work with countries such as Russia and China to address crises that threaten human existence, such as climate change,” the US President said.

Joe Biden promised intelligence officers that during his presidency he would not try to influence them and force them to change their assessment of a particular situation. “I will never politicize your work. I give you my word. This is too important for our country, ”the president said.

According to the president, the greatest strength of American society is that it consists of completely different people who represent different points of view on this or that problem.

Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin held talks in Geneva on June 16. They then agreed on the return of Ambassador Anatoly Antonov to Washington and Ambassador John Sullivan to Moscow, on negotiations to resolve problems in the work of diplomatic missions that began after a series of mutual expulsions of diplomats and on contacts on a number of other issues of mutual interest.