Russia and the United States appear to be in good standing as they’ve come to a potential agreement to swap each other’s cyber criminals.
The decision will be finalized and signed by the two powers in a meeting in Geneva on June 16.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “If we agree to extradite criminals, then of course Russia will do that, we will do that, but only if the other side, in this case the United States, agrees to the same and will extradite the criminals in question to the Russian Federation.”
“The question of cyber security is one of the most important at the moment because turning all kinds of systems off can lead to really difficult consequences,” he continued.
United States President, Joe Biden said Russia’s willingness to discuss this criminal swap agreement is “potentially a good sign of progress.”
Biden told reporters, “If there’s crimes committed against Russia…and the people committing those crimes are being harbored in the United States, I’m committed to holding them accountable.”
Anthony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State told ABC, “No responsible country should be in the business of harboring in any way criminal organizations engaged in cyberattacks, including ransomware. And the president is going to make that very clear to President Putin. We are looking for Russian cooperation in dealing with these criminal organizations to the extent they’re operating from Russian territory.”