Organizations urge Biden to halt ‘reckless’ rhetoric with Putin

Twenty-seven organizations, including a number of left-leaning groups, issued a statement on Tuesday urging President Biden to halt the use of “reckless” rhetoric with Russian President Vladimir Putin and instead conduct “constructive bilateral talks.”

“As national organizations that advocate for diplomacy, arms control, disarmament and peace, we are deeply alarmed by the recent negative exchanges between leaders of the two countries with more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads in their arsenals,” the organizations wrote in a statement obtained by The Hill.

“As Americans, we urge the Biden administration to stop participating in such reckless rhetorical exchanges and to instead vigorously pursue nuclear-arms negotiations with the Russian government,” they added.

Among the groups that signed on to the statement are Justice Democrats, Blue America, Demand Progress, Our Revolution and Progressive Democrats of America, all of which are left-leaning organizations.

The groups called on Biden to “make good on his stated commitment” from February that “diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy.”

They encouraged Biden to stop participating in negative exchanges with the Russian leader and instead turn to “constructive bilateral talks to address the clear and present dangers of the nuclear arms race has never been more apparent.”

Earlier this month, when asked if he thought Putin is a “killer,” Biden answered, “I do,” adding that the Russian leader will “pay a price” for the country’s influence operation targeting the 2020 election.

In response, Russian officials called the comment “unacceptable,” asked for an apology from the U.S. and recalled Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. Later, Putin wished Biden “good health.”

“The grassroots progressive base of the Democratic Party has zero interest in a bellicose foreign policy towards Putin or Russia,” Alan Minsky, the executive director of Progressive Democrats of America, said in the statement.

“What people want is a safer world with international cooperation, which will allow all of us to rebound more quickly from the public health and economic catastrophe of the past year. We have no patience for Cold War saber-rattling, let alone nuclear brinkmanship,” he added.