[Politics_Observer]

Well looks like Joe has decided to respond to previous Russian hacks and election interference while leaving room to retaliate once again should Russia decide to respond:

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the newly announced sanctions against Russia are a proportionate response to cyberattacks against the US and interference in two presidential elections, but also emphasized that "now is the time to de-escalate" tensions with the country.

Biden said during remarks at the White House that he told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a call earlier in the week that he could have gone further with the measures. While he wanted to avoid escalating tensions, Biden made clear that he will not hesitate to take further action in the future.

"We cannot allow a foreign power to interfere in our democratic process with impunity," Biden said.

He added, "I told (Putin) that we would shortly be responding in a measured and proportionate way because we had concluded that they had interfered in the election and SolarWinds was ... totally inappropriate."

The administration announced earlier Thursday that it was hitting Russia with sweeping sanctions and diplomatic expulsions, punishing Moscow for its interference in the 2020 US election, its SolarWinds cyberattack and its ongoing occupation and "severe human rights abuses" in Crimea.

The President said the US "is not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict in Russia. We want a stable, predictable relationship," before sending a warning: "If Russia continues to interfere with our democracy, we're prepared to take further actions to respond."

Biden did offer an olive branch, referencing the summit he has proposed with the Russian leader that he hopes will take place later on this summer in Europe.

"Now is the time to de-escalate," he said. "The way forward is through thoughtful dialogue and diplomatic process."

As part of Thursday's announcement, the US formally named the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as the force behind the SolarWinds hack that affected the federal government and wide swaths of the private sector. The White House also said that it is expelling 10 Russian diplomats from Washington, including "representatives of Russian intelligence services," for the cyber hack and the election meddling.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/15/politics ... index.html