Readout of Vice President Biden’s Call with Russian Prime Minister Putin

Vice President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Putin this morning and discussed a range of issues including Russia’s World Trade Organization accession, the Obama Administration’s commitment to terminate Jackson-Vanik’s application to Russia, and next steps on missile defense cooperation.  The Vice President and Prime Minister agreed on the importance of continuing momentum in relations between the United States and Russia.  Vice President Biden underscored the continued need for cooperation between the United States and Russia on global security issues and pledged to continue to work with Russia on facilitating travel between our two countries.