WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin will face consequences for authorizing interference in the 2020 US presidential election.
“He will pay a price,” Biden said in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, which aired Wednesday morning, when asked about an intelligence assessment that said Putin ordered “influence operations” aimed at denigrating his candidacy and support Donald Trump.
Biden said he had a lengthy conversation with Putin, appearing to refer to a phone conversation the two leaders had several days after Biden’s inauguration in late January.
“The conversation started, ‘I said, I know you and you know me. If I prove this happened, then get ready, “Biden said, recounting how he faced Putin.
When asked what price Putin will pay, Biden said: “Well, they’ll see you shortly.” However, he added that there are also issues of mutual concern that the two countries can work on together.
A recently declassified US intelligence assessment found that Putin authorized “influence operations designed to denigrate the candidacy of President Biden and the Democratic Party, support former President Trump, undermine public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbate socio-political divisions in the United States. “.
Biden confirmed in the interview that he once told Putin he “has no soul” during a visit to the Kremlin as vice president in 2011, to which he said Putin replied, “We understand each other.”
“The most important thing in my experience dealing with foreign leaders, and I’ve dealt with a lot of them in my career, is meeting the other guy,” Biden told Stephanopoulos.
When asked if he believes Putin is a murderer, Biden said: “I do.”