Following Cyberattacks, Hudson Calls on President Biden to Postpone Meeting with Vladimir Putin

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following news reports of a second major cyberattack this week by Russian actors, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) is calling on President Joe Biden to postpone a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin scheduled for later this month until Putin stops the cyberattacks.

"Following reports of a second cyberattack originating in Russia, I am calling on President Biden to postpone a summit with Vladimir Putin scheduled for later this month," said Rep. Hudson. "I support dialogue and support Russian participation in international organizations like the OSCE PA. However, President Biden should not reward ongoing Russian assaults on our fuel and food supply by allowing Putin to share the global stage with the President of the United States. At a time when Russia has significantly increased global aggression, a presidential summit only emboldens Putin. President Biden must hold Russia accountable and postpone this summit until Putin stops the cyberattacks."

Background

President Biden is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland on June 16. This week, the White House confirmed a cyberattack on meatpacker JBS likely originated in Russia.

Following a previous Russian cyberattack of the Colonial Pipeline, which impacted North Carolina more than any other state, Rep. Hudson spoke about the importance of holding Russia accountable. He also introduced a resolution last month opposing the Biden administration's green-lighting of the Russian Nord Stream II pipeline that would carry natural gas from Russia to Germany. Rep. Hudson's resolution called out President Biden for stopping an American pipeline earlier this year yet contradicting previous statements and approving Nord Stream II.

"As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and U.S. Helsinki Commission, I am focused on both expanding America's energy economy and holding Russia accountable. President Biden's decision to green light the Nord Stream II pipeline seriously undermines both of these goals," said Rep. Hudson. "At the same time President Biden stopped an American pipeline that would create American jobs, he has approved a Russian pipeline that would strengthen Russia's stranglehold on Europe. This ridiculous logic is a slap in the face to American workers, as well as our allies in Europe who will now fall even more under Russia's thumb."

Rep. Hudson, who is a chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly First Committee, previously secured an amendment to the Helsinki Commission's Berlin Declaration in July 2018 that opposed the construction of the Nord Stream II. Rep. Hudson has expressed serious concerns on the advancement of this pipeline, as Russia has not acted in good faith and could use this new export capability to intimidate European nations.

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