Biden the ‘best thing’ to happen to Putin, US senator says

Joe Biden getting elected as the US president in 2020 was the “best thing” that could have happened for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

In an interview with ‘Fox News Sunday’, the Republican senator accused Biden of not doing enough to provide support for Ukraine amidst the administration's worries of a potential invasion by Russia, something that has been denied by Moscow.

“If you look at what the Ukrainians want, they've been very explicit,” Cruz said. “They've asked the United States explicitly, ‘Put sanctions on Nord Stream 2, right now, today.’ Joe Biden could do that this morning. He refuses to do it. And they said, number two, provide lethal military aid, give us the weapons to defend ourselves.”

Cruz went on to accuse Biden of “personally” lobbying against sanctions on Russia and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

“That's why we're facing this invasion. I gotta say … Joe Biden becoming president is the best thing that ever happened, tragically, for Vladimir Putin,” Cruz said, adding that Biden’s “fecklessness” is enabling other countries. 

Biden has continued to argue a Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen based on recent troop movements near the country’s border, though administration officials continue to say a diplomatic solution is possible.

On Sunday, Cruz argued that the US should have been more extreme in preemptive sanctions on Russia to prevent being on the “brink of war in Europe.” 

“Joe Biden formally waived sanctions on Russia, on Putin, and gave the green light to build Nord Stream 2,” he said. “That is why we have over 100,000 troops and Russian tanks on the border of Ukraine preparing to invade. That’s where we are – on the brink of war in Europe.”