Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has slammed US President Joe Biden's demand to free Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, saying that some kind of ultimatums are unacceptable.
"This is very aggressive and unconstructive rhetoric, to our regret... We have already said that we will not heed such statements, which are some kind of mentoring lectures", he said
The official also expressed hope that the US has enough "political willpower" to continue constructive interaction with Moscow.
After Biden's inauguration, the new US president had a phone call with President Vladimir Putin. According to the White House, Biden raised problematic issues between the two countries, such as recent cyberattacks against American companies and government bodies (which Washington still blames on Russia despite a lack of evidence), Moscow's purported election meddling, the arrest of Navalny, and many others.
At the same time, the presidents managed to find common ground on New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) that resulted in the accord being extended.
