Biden accused of spreading hatred against Russia

A Kremlin spokesperson accused Joe Biden on Monday of spreading “hatred” against Russia after the former vice president said the nation represents a greater national security threat to the U.S. than China.

Reuters reported that Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russian officials “absolutely do not agree” with Biden’s remarks on “60 Minutes” on Sunday.

“We can only regret that absolute hatred of the Russian Federation is spread in this way,” said Peskov.

Biden told CBS’s Norah O’Donnell that Russia is actively working to break up U.S. alliances around the world, though he added that China is the U.S.’s greatest economic competition.

“Well, I think the biggest threat to America right now in terms of breaking up our, our security and our alliances is Russia,” Biden said. “Secondly, I think that the biggest competitor is China. And depending on how we handle that will determine whether we’re competitors or we end up being in a more serious competition relating to force.”

Peskov also reportedly dismissed U.S. claims of ongoing Russian attempts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election during Monday’s press call.

Moscow has frequently denied meddling in U.S. elections, though a U.S. intelligence community assessment in 2017 found that “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S presidential election.”

Biden’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.