US President Joe Biden discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin the extension of the strategic START III treaty and problems in relations between the two countries, according to zakon.kz.

RIA Novosti quotes White House spokesman Jen Psaki.

He called President Putin this afternoon to discuss our desire to extend START III by five years and to reaffirm our strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. And to raise concerns, including the SolarWinds hack, reports of Russians awarding awards to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, interference in the 2020 elections, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and the treatment of peaceful protesters by Russian security forces

Russia has repeatedly denied US accusations on all of these points in the past.

The Kremlin notes that the conversation between Vladimir Putin and Joseph Biden was businesslike and frank. The leaders agreed to keep in touch.

In conversation, Vladimir Putin drew attention to the fact that normalization of relations between Moscow and Washington would meet the interests of both countries. This is important for maintaining security and stability in the world.

The White House, in turn, reported that the call was initiated by Biden. He called Putin in the afternoon.