Biden, Putin have tough exchange
Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded to U.S. President Joe Biden’s description of him as a killer.
U.S.-Russia ties nosedived on Thursday after Russian leader Vladimir Putin shot back at President Joe Biden’s description of him as a killer.
The back and forth underscored Biden’s desire to distance himself from former President Donald Trump’s perceived softness on Putin despite actions his administration took against Russia. Although Biden agreed to extend a major arms control deal with Russia, he has been notably cool toward Moscow and highly critical of many of its activities.
In taking a tough stance on Russia, Biden has said the days of the U.S. “rolling over” to Putin are done. And he has taken pains to contrast his style with the approach of Trump, who avoided direct confrontation and frequently spoke about Putin with approval.
In an interview broadcast Wednesday, Biden replied “I do” when asked if he thought Putin was a “killer.” Also Wednesday, U.S. intelligence released a report finding that Putin authorized influence operations to help Trump’s reelection bid.
Ambassador recalled
Later that day, Putin recalled his ambassador to the U.S. and on Thursday he pointed at the U.S. history of slavery and slaughtering Native Americans and the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II.
Responding to that, the White House said Biden would continue to look to work with Putin on areas of mutual concern but stressed that he was “not going to hold back” when he has concerns about Putin’s actions.
Putin had been asked about Biden’s comment during a video call marking
the anniversary of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, and he responded along the lines of “it-takesone-to-know-one,” saying his counterpart’s words reflected the United States’ own problems. At the same time, he offered to have a phone call with Biden to discuss issues of mutual interest.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would continue to look to cooperate on efforts to stem Iran’s nuclear program and, more broadly, nuclear nonproliferation. But she said Biden did not regret referring to Putin as a killer and pushed back against suggestions that the rhetoric was unhelpful.
“President Biden has known President Putin for a long time,” Psaki said. “They’ve both been on the global stage for a long time, worked through many iterations of a relationship between the United States and Russia. And he believes we can continue to do that.”
Psaki also dismissed Putin’s “it-takes-one-toknow-one”
response, suggesting Biden was well aware of the United States’ own problems.
“The president believes that one of the greatest attributes of the United States is our honest self-reflection and our constant striving for progress, and there’s always more work to do,” she said.
Putin pointed at the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan, as well as its history of slavery and slaughtering Native Americans, noting the painful legacies weighing on the United States.
“Otherwise, where would the Black Lives Matter movement come from?” he said, citing racial injustice and the killing of African Americans.
Intelligence report
The exchange of tough statements follows a declassified report from the U.S. national intelligence director’s office that found Putin authorized influence operations to try to help Trump in his failed bid to win reelection in November. The Kremlin has dismissed
the report as baseless.
“(Putin) will pay a price,” Biden said in the interview when asked about the declassified report.
Biden’s administration warned that Russia would face sanctions soon over its attempt to influence the election and the massive SolarWinds hacks.
The spiraling tensions have brought U.S.-Russia relations to the point where they were at the end of President Barack Obama’s administration, a chilly strain that differed markedly from Trump’s efforts to court Putin.
Asked what he would tell Biden in response to his remarks, Putin said: “I would tell him: ‘Be well.’ I wish him health, and I say that without any irony or joking.”
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 U.S. want to have peace and friendship with Russia.”