Russia’s foreign ministry called back its ambassador to the U.S. this Wednesday after President Joe Biden said Putin would “pay a price” for Russia’s efforts to interfere with the American election.
A message from the foreign ministry stated that Ambassador Anatoly Antonov had been recalled to Moscow and warned about a “deterioration in U.S. Russia relations,” saying that such a thing would have consequences.
“The most vital thing is to identify how to rectify Russia-US relations, which have went through hard times as D.C. has brought them to a blind alley. We want to prevent an irreversible deterioration in our relations,” read the foreign ministry’s statement.
Biden’s press secretary Jen Paki responded to the recalling and restated that Russia would face consequences over the intel community’s opinions that Russia interfered with America’s politics.
Her statement came hours after President Biden threatened Putin during an interview on ABC News.
“He’ll pay a price,” President Biden said. “We talked a long time. And I told him, ‘You know me and I know you. If I find out that this occurred, then be prepared.’ ”
The U.S. DNI released a report this week accusing Putin of “authorizing a range of Russian influence operations aimed at President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party, undermining public confidence in the election process, and exacerbating divisions in the nation.”
Biden also on Wednesday announced sanctions targeted at Russia for the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, a top Russian dissident.
