U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says President Joe Biden will reveal to Russian President Vladimir Putin what he can expect if âaggressive, reckless actionsâ toward the United States continue.
During an âAxios on HBOâ interview, Blinken said Biden is meeting Putin ânot in spite ofâ the cyberattacks that have affected the meat and gas supplies in the United States, but âbecause of them.â
According to Blinken, Biden will tell Putin âdirectly and clearly what he can expect from the United States if aggressive, reckless actions toward us continue.â
He also told Axios the United States âwould prefer a more stable relationshipâ with Russia.
Blinken continued, âI canât tell you whether Iâm optimistic or not about the results. I donât think weâre going to know after one meeting, but weâll have some indications ⊠Weâre prepared either way.â
The secretary of state also touched on the investigation behind the origins of COVID-19.
Watch part of the interview below:
âWe have to get to the bottom of what happened. Thereâs accountability, but from my perspective, the most important thing and the most important reason we have to get to the bottom of this is thatâs the only way weâre going to be able to prevent the next pandemic or at least do a better job in mitigating it,â Blinken explained.
The president will meet with Putin on June 16 to discuss âthe full range of pressing issues,â according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, as IJR reported.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russiaâs deputy foreign minister sent a warning to the United States ahead of the meeting.
âThe Americans must assume that a number of signals from Moscow ⊠will be uncomfortable for them, including in the coming days,â he said.
During a Memorial Day service in Delaware, Biden sent a warning of his own, as IJR reported.
âIâll be meeting with President Putin in a couple weeks in Geneva making it clear that we will not stand by and let him abuse those rights,â Biden said.
