WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Both Moscow and the US-led NATO alliance are building up military forces on Russia’s border with Eastern Europe amid ongoing tensions over Ukraine.
At the same time, Russia and the United States continue to work together in areas such as space exploration and, in some cases, attempts to combat Islamist terrorism.
"Embracing Putin at a time of renewed Russian aggression would, I believe, would call into question America’s longstanding commitment to Europe whole free and at peace," Biden said. "But, neither is it time to dust off the Cold War playbook. We have to continue cooperating with Russia where our interests overlap."
Relations between the United States and Russia deteriorated after Washington accused Moscow in 2014 of meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs. The United States and its allies imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow after residents of Crimea overwhelmingly decided via a popular referendum to rejoin Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly refuted all allegations of interfering in Ukraine’s affairs and has warned that amassing troops and weapons on Russia’s borders can destabilize the region.