Russia says, U.S. missed opportunity to solidify diplomatic relations by refusing a challenge
Russia said that the U.S. missed an opportunity to solidify diplomatic relations by refusing a challenge by Russian President Vladimir Putin to debate President Joe Biden in an online forum following Biden’s “killer” comment last week.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday, “We note with regret that the American side has not supported (Putin’s) proposal to hold talks with U.S President Biden.”
“Another opportunity has been missed to search for a way out of the dead-end in Russian-American relations caused by Washington. Responsibility for this lies entirely with the United States,” it said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused Putin’s request to take part in a public debate, saying he is “is quite busy.” She added that the U.S. is confident that both countries could continue to seek ways where there’s a shared interest- shared national interest. But, never would Biden hold back, whenever he had concerns, whether it is words or actions.
Biden in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos said he thinks Putin is a “killer.” He also added that he has met Putin and doesn’t believe he has a “soul.”
Putin responded on Russian TV, wishing the president “good health” without “any irony or joke” and saying he would organize a debate to discuss Biden’s comments and other regional issues.
The Kremlin also sought an apology from the Biden White House.
And Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said it was a “very bad statement by the U.S. president” showing “he doesn’t want to normalize relations.”
Relations between the two countries have been getting worse over the past decade and were recently magnified. This was when the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Russian officials and businesses for Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 and 2020 elections and the poisoning of dissident Alexei Navalny.
