Russia recalled its ambassador to the United States on Wednesday following a report that concluded the country schemed to meddle in the 2020 presidential election and a warning by President Biden.
Anatoly Antonov was summoned back to Russia for consultation purposes, a spokesperson for the Kremlin said. The move follows a Tuesday intelligence community report, which is a declassified version of the one provided to former President Donald Trump and other officials on Jan. 7, which assessed that the Kremlin worked to hurt Biden.
U.S. officials said they did not see any evidence that Russia or any other foreign actor manipulated any of the election results. Still, the findings directly link Russian President Vladimir Putin to the operation, saying he authorized Russian government organizations to conduct operations “denigrating” Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party while supporting Trump. But contrary to 2016, officials “did not see persistent Russian cyber efforts to gain access to election infrastructure,” the report said.
‘HE WILL PAY’: BIDEN WARNS OVER INTELLIGENCE REPORT CONCLUDING RUSSIA MEDDLED IN ELECTION
Kremlin officials have denied Russia sought to mess with U.S. elections, but that didn’t stop Biden from issuing a warning to Putin this week.
“He will pay a price. We had a long talk, he and I,” Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired on Wednesday. “I know him relatively well, and the conversation started off, I said, ‘I know you, and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared.'”
Biden also affirmed that he believes Putin “is a killer,” reiterating that he’s “going to pay,” but he chose not to elaborate.
Antonov, who has held his post since 2017, recently spoke about the U.S.-Russia relationship.
“All we want is predictability, confidence in future, confidence in the United States’ actions,” the senior diplomat said in a YouTube video prior to the U.S. election report’s disclosure. “All I can see for the foreseeable future is that pressure on us will be continued.”
Earlier this month, Biden’s administration sanctioned Russia for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The penalties are focused on “government officials” as the U.S. had “high confidence” that a Russian security agency known as the FSB used a chemical weapon to poison Navalny. He survived the attack and received treatment in Germany but was imprisoned upon return to his home country.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“The United States is neither seeking to reset our relations with Russia nor are we seeking to escalate,” a senior administration official said. “We believe that the United States and our partners must be clear and impose costs when Russian behavior crosses boundaries that are respected by responsible nations.”
Russian officials have denied FSB involvement in the attack on Navalny,
