Putin hits back at Biden after being labelled ‘a killer’
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has said that US President Joe Biden’s remarks about him reflect the past and current problems of the United States.
Mr Biden was asked in an interview this week whether he thought Mr Putin was a killer and replied “I do”.
Asked about Mr Biden’s comment during a video call marking the anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Mr Putin charged that it reflected the United States’ own troubled history.
The Russian leader, inset, pointed at the US atomic bombing of Japan during the Second World War, as well as America’s past history of slaughtering Native Americans and slavery, arguing that the painful legacies weigh on the United States.
“Otherwise, where would the Black Lives Matter movement come from,” he said.
The exchange of tough statements comes on the heels of a declassified report from the US national intelligence director’s office that found Mr Putin authorised influence operations to try to help Donald Trump win reelection in the November US presidential election.
“(Putin) will pay a price,” Mr Biden said in the interview, asked about the declassified report.
Asked what he would tell Mr Biden in response to his remarks, Mr Putin said: “I would tell him: ‘Be well’. I wish him health, and I say that without any irony or joking.”
Recalling his childhood, Mr Putin said that he and his friends would respond to insults with a rhyme saying “the names you call is what you are yourself ”.
“It’s not just a rhymed childish joke, it has a deep psychological meaning: We see our own qualities in another man, we think he’s like us and judge him accordingly,” he added.
Mr Putin claimed that the US establishment likes to air accusations against other countries as part of its efforts to “solve domestic and foreign policy problems”. He noted that Russia would still cooperate with the United States where and when it supports Moscow’s interests, adding that “a lot of honest and decent people in the US want to have peace and friendship with Russia”.
“We are aware of it, we value it and will rely on them in the future,” Mr Putin said.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov deplored what he called “very bad remarks by the US president” that made it clear that “he doesn’t want to normalise relations”.