CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Speaking in Davos, Biden said "Russia is working with every tool available to them to whittle away at the edges of the European project, test for fault lines among western nations, and return to a politics defined by spheres of influence." USA TODAY 
 
 Vice PresidentJoe Biden addresses the assembly on the second day of the World Economic Forum, on Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland. With the world's elite holding its breath until Donald Trump becomes the next US president, outgoing Vice-President Joe Biden addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos / AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINIFABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: AFP_K37N1 (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini, AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 DAVOS, Switzerland — Russia is undermining the liberal world order in its quest for influence, Vice President Biden said Wednesday in his last major speech before leaving office. 
 
 Biden cited Iran and China among "the greatest threats" to the democracies built in Europe and the United States, but, he said, "I will not mince words. This movement is principally led by Russia." 
 
 "Under President (Vladimir) Putin, Russia is working with every tool available to them to whittle away at the edges of the European project, test for fault lines among western nations, and return to a politics defined by spheres of influence," Biden told an audience of CEOs, world leaders and media gather for the World Economic Forum. 
 
 Biden cited Russia's efforts to stoke separatism in Ukraine, use of energy as a weapon and its cyber intrusions into democratic elections, and warned that Russia could use its tactics to manipulate politics in Europe. 
 
 "With many countries in Europe slated to hold elections this year, we should expect further attempts by Russia to meddle in the democratic process," he said. 
 
 Biden began his speech on a light note, noting he had just two days before he could "say what I think" as a simply a citizen, but quickly moved to address the economic and political unease that has inspired populist movements around the world. 
 
 "In these early days of 2017, there’s a palpable uncertainty about the state of our world," Biden said. "Here in this exclusive Alpine tower, where CEOs of multinational corporations rub elbows with leaders of nations, it is easy to embrace the intellectual benefits of a more open and integrated world. But it is at our own peril that we ignore or dismiss the legitimate fears and anxieties that exist in communities all across the developed world." 
 
 Biden, who calls himself a "free trader" and supporter of globalization, said that business and political leaders must recognize that "globalization has not been an unalloyed good" and take steps to close the rift between those "racing ahead at the top" and those "struggling to hang on in the middle." 
 
 The "top 1% is not carrying their weight. You’re not bad guys. You’re good guys," he told the audience. 
 
 He noted at the start of his speech that his comments about uncertainty and unease did not refer to the transition of power Friday as President-elect Donald Trump takes office, but said opposition to globalization manifested in backlash against free trade and diplomacy would unravel some of the gains made by western democracies since World War II. 
 
 "Popular movements on both the left and the right have demonstrated a dangerous willingness to revert to political small-mindedness — to the same nationalist, protectionist and isolationist agendas that led the world to consume itself in war during in the last century," Biden said. "As we have seen time and again throughout history, demagogues and autocrats have emerged — seeking to capitalize on people’s insecurities." 
 
 In an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, Biden said if Trump fails to engage in foreign policy, pursuing an isolationist agenda for the United States and “just stays behind the lines — hands off — it could be very ugly. Very, very ugly.” 
 
 Biden, who spent two days at the elite gathering in Davos, met with China President Xi Jinping, Masoud Barzani, who represents the Kurdistan Region in Iraq and Serbia Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. He gave a speech on the cancer moonshots and mingled with CEO and celebrities, including George and Amal Clooney. 
 
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 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2jYXW9R ||||| Samantha Power, US president Barack Obama’s ambassador to the UN, put aside the diplomacy for her last major speech in the role to tell the international community it must do everything it can to stop what she described as a Russian assault on the world order. 
 
 Outlining Russian actions like the annexation of Crimea, the bombing of civilians in Syria, and a hacking of America’s election, Power drew a picture of a state whose primary aim is to sow chaos and wreak havoc on the “rules-based” world order that is girded by international law and run in bodies like the United Nations. 
 
 “Russia’s actions are not standing up a new world order, they are tearing down the one that exists, and this is what we are fighting against,” she said in a speech at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington today (Jan. 17). “Having defeated the forces of fascism and communism, we now confront the forces of authoritarianism and nihilism.” 
 
 As countries across the world fret about the warm words US president-elect Donald Trump has had for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Power’s speech amounted to a 40-minute plea to American politicians of all stripes to come together and ensure Trump doesn’t let Putin off for his violations of international law. 
 
 Trump has suggested that warming relations with Moscow can only be a good thing. But, addressing the fact that Obama tried to “reset” relations in 2009, Power argued now is a different time: The Russian president then was (nominally) Dmitry Medvedev, Russia had not invaded Ukraine, and had not tried to influence the US elections. 
 
 Those who argue, as Trump has, that undoing sanctions against Russia will make the Kremlin more amenable “have it backwards,” Power said. “Easing punitive measures…will only embolden Russia,” encourage North Korea and Iran to follow them and send the message that all they need to do is “wait it out,” Power argued. 
 
 “We root wholeheartedly for a different kind of era, but it can’t be one that glosses the past or papers over the fact that you’re talking about dealing with a leader who has his own opponents intimidated and in some cases killed,” she said, making her perhaps the highest-ranking US official to accuse Putin of ordering assassinations. 
 
 Positive policy prescriptions were few and far between, however—showing the extent to which the Obama administration hit an impasse with Moscow. “In the place of faith they offer cynicism, in the place of engagement, indifference,” Power said. 
 
 The tenor of the speech instead implied that at present there simply is no middle ground between an American belief in liberal democracy and Russian nihilism. But Trump, as evidenced by the below tweets, sounds prepared to attempt to bridge that divide. 
 
 Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only "stupid" people, or fools, would think that it is bad! We….. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017 
 
 have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am President, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2017 ||||| Joe Biden offered a stirring defense of liberalism, as well as a harsh rebuke of Russia in his final speech as vice president. 
 
 Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Biden warned of “dangerous demagogues and autocrats that have emerged seeking to capitalize on people’s insecurities. In this case, using Islamophobic, antisemitic, xenophobic rhetoric to stir fear to envision and advance their own agenda.” 
 
 “This is at political odds with our values,” Biden said, championing globalization and urging Western allies to “reject isolationism and protectionism.” 
 
 While Biden didn’t directly reference Donald Trump, the President-elect has been criticized about his proposed ban of Muslim people, his offensive remarks about Mexican immigrants and his decision to hire Steve Bannon, the former Breitbart executive with white nationalist ties. 
 
 Biden sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin over his attacks on sovereign institutions ― including the Ukraine ― as well as his “use of propaganda and false information campaigns, injecting doubt and political agitation in democratic systems.” 
 
 Earlier this month, U.S. intelligence agencies released a report detailing Putin’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 election in an attempt to help Trump win. 
 
 “Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow’s longstanding desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order, but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity and scope of effort compared to previous operations,” the report said. 
 
 Biden defended the findings and predicted that this wouldn’t be the last time Putin attempted to undermine another country’s elections. 
 
 “With many countries in Europe slated to hold elections this year, we should expect further attempts by Russia to meddle in the democratic process.” Biden said. “It will occur again, I promise you. And again the purpose is clear: to collapse the liberal international order.” 
 
 But everything’s not lost, Biden said, calling on the U.S. and Europe to “lead the fight to defend the values that have brought us to where we are today.” ||||| “Easing punitive measures on the Russian government when they haven’t changed their behavior will only embolden Russia," Samantha Power said. | Getty U.N. Ambassador Power warns Trump against cozying up to Russia 
 
 United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power on Tuesday warned President-elect Donald Trump against attempting a reset with Russia. 
 
 “Yes, the Obama administration tried this approach in our first term. But 2017 is not 2009,” Power said Tuesday during an address at the Atlantic Council. 
 
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 Indeed, Dimitri Medvedev was president of Russia in 2009, not Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current authoritarian leader. And the U.S., Power said, found common ground with Moscow back then on issues including counterterrorism, arms control and the war in Afghanistan. 
 
 “More important, in 2009, Russia was not occupying Crimea, fueling an ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, and bombing hospitals and first responders in Syria,” Power said. “Nor, most importantly, had Russia interfered directly in a U.S. election.” 
 
 In a 40-minute address, Power sent a series of messages to the incoming administration, encouraging Trump without mentioning him by name to support the intelligence community he will soon take over, support the nation’s NATO allies and maintain President Barack Obama’s retaliatory sanctions against the Kremlin. 
 
 While it’s healthy for parties to debate key issues, Power stressed that what isn’t healthy “is for a party or its leaders to cast doubt on a unanimous, well-documented assessment of our intelligence community that a foreign government is seeking to harm our country,” implicitly rebuking Trump for his months-long rejection of U.S. intelligence. 
 
 Power called on the nation to do a better job of informing its citizens against the dire threat of the Russia government, insisting that “unity is crucial.” She cited “an alarmingly high proportion” — 37 percent — of Republicans who view Putin favorably, compared to just 10 percent of Republicans who were surveyed in July 2014. 
 
 “I know some have said that this focus on Russia is simply the party that lost the recent presidential election being ‘sore losers,’” she said, likely alluding to the president-elect, “but it should worry every American that a foreign government interfered in our democratic process. It’s not about the leader we chose — it’s about who gets to choose that leader. That privilege should belong only to Americans.” 
 
 Power also said the U.S. must maintain its support of its NATO allies, which she, like Trump, called on to pay their fair share. And she said the U.S. shouldn’t ease its sanctions against Russia, as Trump may do once he takes office. 
 
 “Easing punitive measures on the Russian government when they haven’t changed their behavior will only embolden Russia — sending the message that the best way to gain international acceptance of its destabilizing actions is simply to wait us out,” she warned. “And that will not only encourage more dangerous actions by Russia, but also by other rule-breakers like Iran and North Korea, which are constantly testing how far they can move the line without triggering a response.” 
 
 Throughout her remarks, Power outlined the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. She highlighted issues on which both nations have worked together — negotiating a resolution to get chemical weapons out of Syria, for instance, and imposing sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program — but insisted that the Kremlin is a “major threat.” 
 
 “Anyone who has seen my debates in the U.N. Security Council with Russia knows that I and my government have long had serious concerns about its government’s aggressive and destabilizing actions,” she said. 
 
 Power said the Russian government, at Putin’s direction, “is taking steps that are weakening the rules-based order” on which the international community operates. 
 
 “Our values, our security, our prosperity, and our very way of life are tied to this order,” she continued. “And we — and by we, I mean the United States and our closest partners — must come together to prevent Russia from succeeding.” 
 
 Russia has tried to sow doubt and division in democracies, attempting to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its allies, Power said, pointing specifically to Germany, Montenegro and even America as examples. 
 
 While Russian hackers broadly tried to delegitimize Germany’s democratic process, Power noted their more direct campaign in Montenegro, where Russians sought to “violently disrupt the country’s elections, topple the government, install a new administration loyal to Moscow and perhaps even assassinate the prime minister.” 
 
 In the U.S., she added, Russia sought to undermine faith in the nation’s democratic process and boost one candidate while denigrating the other. 
 
 “At first glance these interventions by Russia in different parts of the world can appear unrelated. That is because the common thread running through them cannot be found in anything that Russia is for — but rather in what Russia is against. Not in the rules it follows, but in the ones it breaks.” 
 
 The path forward that Power shared includes a bipartisan effort to determine the full extent of Russia’s cyberattacks during the U.S. election and continued engagement with the Russian people, even as the Russian government has limited the ways the U.S. can communicate with Russia's citizens. 
 
 “We must be careful to distinguish between the Russian government and the Russian people,” she said. “We cannot let America’s relationship with a nation of more than 140 million people … be defined solely by the nefarious actions of a tiny subset in their government.”
– Donald Trump's plan to cozy up to Russia is "backwards" and all politicians should stand against it, says the current US ambassador to the UN. In her last major speech on the job Tuesday, Samantha Power urged politicians to prevent the Kremlin from "tearing down" a "rules-based" world order and keep Trump from excusing Russia's crimes, including the annexation of Crimea, the hacking of the US election, and its role in a Syrian bombing campaign, per Quartz. She even went as far as to accuse Vladimir Putin of killing his opponents. "Having defeated the forces of fascism and communism, we now confront the forces of authoritarianism and nihilism," she said at the Atlantic Council. Reversing sanctions against Russia "will only embolden Russia" and encourage North Korea and Iran, "which are constantly testing how far they can move the line without triggering a response," Power continued, per Politico. Her sentiments were echoed by Joe Biden at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday. Biden referred to Russia's escalating efforts to "undermine the US-led liberal democratic order," promising the Kremlin will interfere in upcoming elections in Europe, reports the Huffington Post. He also noted a general "willingness to revert to … the same nationalist, protectionist, and isolationist agendas that led the world to consume itself in war," adding a "hands off" approach to foreign policy "could be very ugly," per USA Today.