"As national organizations that advocate for diplomacy, arms control, disarmament and peace, we are deeply alarmed by the recent negative exchanges between leaders of the two countries with more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads in their arsenals," the group said in a joint statement posted by RootsAction.org. "As Americans, we urge the Biden administration to stop participating in such reckless rhetorical exchanges and to instead vigorously pursue nuclear-arms negotiations with the Russian government."
The need for constructive bilateral talks to address the "clear and present dangers" of the nuclear arms race has never been more apparent, the group said.
"With great urgency, we call upon President Biden to make good on his stated commitment that 'diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy,'" the statement said.
Other notable signatories include People for Bernie, Justice Democrats, Blue America, Demand Progress, Veterans For Peace, Union of Concerned Scientists, Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, the US Palestinian Community Network, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, among others.
Biden has recently publicly answered in the affirmative to a question whether he believes Putin is "a killer" and threatened that the Russian leader will "pay a price" for alleged election meddling, which Moscow has repeatedly denied. Russia recalled its ambassador from Washington for consultations over the comment.
