Russia expects “nothing positive” will come from President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration, top government officials warned.
The admissions came from two top Kremlin associates, each of whom spoke candidly on Wednesday about their thoughts on the 46th commander-in-chief.
Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not believe anything beneficial would come from the Biden White House.
In an interview that same day with Interfax, a major Russian news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov echoed Peskov’s sentiments while calling the United States “deeply hostile.”
“We are definitely not expecting anything good. And it would be strange to expect good things from people, many of whom made their careers on Russophobia and throwing mud at my country,” Ryabkov told the outlet.
While most of his ire was aimed at Team Biden, Ryabkov did not shy away from airing his grievances with the Trump administration, which he argued was trying to “loudly slam the door” on Moscow.
“We are going from bad to worse. This was very typical for the past four years and so far there is no feeling that this trend has outlived its usefulness,” he remarked.
The comments came just one day after Biden vowed that his administration would retaliate in the wake of a massive cyberattack on the US’ computer systems, which he believes was perpetrated by Russia.
“We cannot let this go unanswered. That means making clear publicly who was responsible for this attack and taking meaningful steps to hold them to account,” Biden said.
“Initial indications, including from Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo and Attorney General [William] Barr, suggest that Russia is responsible for this breach. It certainly fits Russia’s long history of reckless and disruptive cyber activities,” he went on.
Government officials have blamed the Kremlin for the devastating attack on multiple federal agencies, including the Pentagon, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Departments of Commerce, Treasury and Homeland Security.
A number of private companies including Intel and Cisco Systems also appear to have been compromised in the cyberespionage campaign, which was carried out by hackers who slipped malware into the software of a company called SolarWinds.
In an interview Friday night, Pompeo said it was “pretty clear” that Russia was behind the attack, a belief shared by the Department of Homeland Security.
But President Trump has sought to downplay the crisis in tweets in which he also suggested China was to blame.
When asked about the controversy, Ryabkov rejected US outrage, telling the outlet that Russia regularly discovers hacking attempts by the United States and others and “we don’t make a fuss about it.”
A Biden transition spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
With Post wires