MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. Russian and US Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, stressed the necessity of constructive cooperation between the two countries in the sphere of cybersecurity, the Kremlin press service said on Friday after their telephone conversation.
The presidents continued dialogue on issues of information security and the fight against cybercrime that began at the Russian-US summit in Geneva, the Kremlin noted.
"In the context of the recent reports about a series of cyberattacks allegedly originating from Russia, Vladimir Putin noted that despite the Russian side’s readiness for joint efforts to stop crimes in the information space, no inquiries on these matters came from the United States’ security agencies in the past month," the Kremlin said. "At the same time, bearing in mind the scale and seriousness of the challenges in this sphere, cooperation between Russia and the United States should be permanent, professional, and non-politicized. It should be carried out via specialized channels of data exchange between the relevant government structures within bilateral legal mechanisms and with due respect to international law."
"The leaders stressed the necessity of substantive and constructive cooperation in the sphere of cybersecurity, and the continuation of corresponding contacts," it said.
Syrian issue
Apart from that, the Russian and US Presidents discussed Syria, praising the coordination of their countries’ efforts on the Syrian settlement, the Kremlin press service said.
"[During the telephone call] the sides also touched upon the situation in Syria, with a focus on humanitarian aspects. Both sides gave a positive assessment of the coordination of Russia’s and the United States’ efforts on these topics, including within the United Nations Security Council," it said.
Earlier on Friday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on cross-border humanitarian assistance in Syria that was drafted through Russia’s and the United States’ joint efforts, for the first time ever. According to Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia, Russia outlined its red lines during consultations on the document. He noted that the final text of the resolution has provisions that were lacking in the original edition initiated by Western nations. So, in his words, the UN Security Council finally passed a compromise. He specially stressed the fact that the resolution envisages the development of humanitarian deliveries across the contact lines.
It was the first telephone conversation between Putin and Biden after their summit meeting in Geneva on June 16, when they spoke for nearly 3.5 hours. The presidents discussed the current state of and prospects for further development of bilateral relations, issues of strategic stability and international matters.
Before that, the two leaders spoke over the phone two times, on January 26 and on April 13.