Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Feb 02, 2026

Biden will warn Putin the US will respond 'forcefully' if Russia continues its 'reckless and aggressive actions,' Blinken says

Biden will warn Putin the US will respond 'forcefully' if Russia continues its 'reckless and aggressive actions,' Blinken says

Tensions between Russia and the US have increased following a wave of cyberattacks that are believed to have originated in Russia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said President Joe Biden will warn Russian President Vladimir Putin against committing future "reckless and aggressive actions" when he meets with him in Geneva later this week.

"This is not going to be a flip the light switch moment," Blinken told CNN's Dana Bash during an appearance Sunday on "State of the Union." "What the president is going to make clear to President Putin is we seek a more stable, predictable relationship with Russia."

He added: "But if Russia chooses to continue reckless and aggressive actions, we will respond forcefully as the president has already demonstrated that he would when it comes to election interference, or the Solar Winds cyber attack, or the attempt to murder Mr. Navalny with a chemical weapon."

Aleksei Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition, fell ill in August last year. In December, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Navalny had been poisoned using a substance with a "similar structural characteristics" to the Novichok family of highly potent nerve agents, according to The New York Times.


Navalny was arrested in Moscow after he returned to Russia following treatment for the poisoning. As Insider previously reported, Navalny was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for violating parole. He was previously convicted of embezzlement in 2014, a conviction that leading human rights groups say was politically motivated.

Biden in an April executive order placed sanctions on Russia for its attempts to interfere in the 2020 US election and its role in the SolarWinds cyberattack last year.

The US has faced a number of major cyberattacks this year, including the attack on the gasoline provider Colonial Pipeline which caused gas shortages along the east coast in May. DarkSide, the ransomware group that hacked Colonial Pipeline, is believed to have ties to Russia.

Blinken on Sunday indicated a decisive answer on cooperation between Russian and the US wouldn't come from the Wednesday meeting but said it was the start of determining whether the two nations can find common ground and work together on shared interests.

"This meeting is not happening in a vacuum," Blinken said. "We're coming off the G7, we're coming off the NATO summit, we'll be coming off an EU summit as well, and our leadership and our engagement is a very powerful force."

Blinken said the US was in a "much stronger position" that it was just one year ago to work with allies to confront issues posed by adversaries like Russia and by China.

Biden will hold a press conference following his meeting with Putin, but the two world leaders will not appear at the conference together.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Saudi Arabia Move to Deepen Energy Cooperation Amid Global Transition
Saudi Aviation Records Historic Passenger Traffic in 2025 and Sets Sights on Further Growth in 2026
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Global Shifts in War, Trade, Energy and Security Mark Major International Developments
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Saudi Crown Prince Tells Iranian President: Kingdom Will Not Host Attacks Against Iran
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Trump Defends Saudi Crown Prince in Heated Exchange After Reporter Questions Khashoggi Murder and 9/11 Links
Saudi Stocks Rally as Kingdom Prepares to Fully Open Capital Market to Global Investors
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
Saudi Arabia scales back Neom as The Line is redesigned and Trojena downsized
Saudi Industrial Group Completes One Point Three Billion Dollar Acquisition of South Africa’s Barloworld
Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Confirms Return to Trump National Bedminster for 2026 Season
Gold Jumps More Than 8% in a Week as the Dollar Slides Amid Greenland Tariff Dispute
Boston Dynamics Atlas humanoid robot and LG CLOiD home robot: the platform lock-in fight to control Physical AI
United States under President Donald Trump completes withdrawal from the World Health Organization: health sovereignty versus global outbreak early-warning access
Trump Administration’s Iran Military Buildup and Sanctions Campaign Puts Deterrence Credibility on the Line
Tech Brief: AI Compute, Chips, and Platform Power Moves Driving Today’s Market Narrative
NATO’s Stress Test Under Trump: Alliance Credibility, Burden-Sharing, and the Fight Over Strategic Territory
Saudi Arabia’s Careful Balancing Act in Relations with Israel Amid Regional and Domestic Pressures
Greenland, Gaza, and Global Leverage: Today’s 10 Power Stories Shaping Markets and Security
America’s Venezuela Oil Grip Meets China’s Demand: Market Power, Legal Shockwaves, and the New Rules of Energy Leverage
Trump’s Board of Peace: Breakthrough Diplomacy or a Hostile Takeover of Global Order?
Prince William to Make Official Visit to Saudi Arabia in February
Saudi Arabia Advances Ambitious Artificial River Mega-Project to Transform Water Security
Saudi Crown Prince and Syrian President Discuss Stabilisation, Reconstruction and Regional Ties in Riyadh Talks
Mohammed bin Salman Confronts the ‘Iranian Moment’ as Saudi Leadership Faces Regional Test
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
Donald Trump Organization Unveils Championship Golf Course and Luxury Resort Project in Saudi Arabia
Inside Diriyah: Saudi Arabia’s $63.2 Billion Vision to Transform Its Historic Heart into a Global Tourism Powerhouse
Trump Designates Saudi Arabia a Major Non-NATO Ally, Elevating US–Riyadh Defense Partnership
Trump Organization Deepens Saudi Property Focus with $10 Billion Luxury Developments
There is no sovereign immunity for poisoning millions with drugs.
Mohammed bin Salman’s Global Standing: Strategic Partner in Transition Amid Debate Over His Role
Saudi Arabia Opens Property Market to Foreign Buyers in Landmark Reform
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
CNN’s Ranking of Israel’s Women’s Rights Sparks Debate After Misleading Global Index Comparison
Saudi Arabia’s Shifting Regional Alignment Raises Strategic Concerns in Jerusalem
OPEC+ Holds Oil Output Steady Amid Member Tensions and Market Oversupply
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
President Trump Says United States Will Administer Venezuela Until a Secure Leadership Transition
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Saudi-UAE Rift Adds Complexity to Middle East Diplomacy as Trump Signals Firm Leadership
OPEC+ to Keep Oil Output Policy Unchanged Despite Saudi-UAE Tensions Over Yemen
Saudi Arabia and UAE at Odds in Yemen Conflict as Southern Offensive Deepens Gulf Rift
×