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Biden vows Russian President Putin will pay a price for election interference

In an interview with ABC News broadcast on Wednesday, Biden said Putin would "pay a price" for trying to undermine his candidacy in the US 2020 election as alleged in a new US intelligence report. Asked if he thought Putin, who is accused of being ruthless with his opponents, is "a killer," Biden said, "I do."

Reuters WORLD
Published March 17,2021
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President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin will face consequences for directing efforts to swing the 2020 U.S. presidential election to Donald Trump, and that they would come soon.

"He will pay a price," Biden told ABC News in an interview that aired on Wednesday. Asked what the consequences would be, he said, "You'll see shortly."

His comments come after a U.S. intelligence report on Tuesday bolstered longstanding allegations that Putin was behind Moscow's election interference, an accusation that Russia called "baseless".

At the same time, Biden noted that "there are places where it's in our mutual interest to work together" such as renewing the START nuclear agreement, adding that the two leaders have a known history.

"I know him relatively well," Biden said, adding that "the most important thing dealing with foreign leaders in my experience ... is just to know the other guy."

Of Putin, Biden said he does not think the Russian leader has a soul. Asked if he thought Putin was a killer, he told ABC: "I do."