Thursday March 18, 2021
After the attack from Washington
Putin wishes Biden "good health"
The fronts between the US and Russia are hardening. US President Biden indirectly describes the Russian head of state as a murderer. The Kremlin is outraged and demands a statement from Washington. Meanwhile, Putin reacts calmly.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown himself to be unimpressed by the verbal attack by US President Joe Biden and has declared that he wants to shape future relations with Washington solely to Moscow's advantage. After Biden's statement that he considered Putin a "murderer", the Kremlin chief said in a televised address that one should not infer others from oneself. "We always see our own characteristics in another person and think that they are like ourselves," Putin said in his televised statement. "It's not just a childish phrase, a joke. The meaning is deep and psychological."
Putin also wished 78-year-old Biden "good health, without any irony" and then affirmed that Moscow would not be intimidated by Washington. "We will defend our interests and work with them on terms that are beneficial to us," he said.
Biden's statements about Putin were previously called "very bad" by his spokesman, Dmitri Peskov. It is "clear" that Biden "does not want to bring relations with our country back on track". "We'll continue from here."
Putin will "pay a price"
In an interview with ABC News broadcast last Wednesday, Biden was asked if he thought Putin was a "murderer". The US President then said: "I do." Regarding alleged attempts by Russia to influence the US presidential election last year, Biden said Putin would "pay a price" for it.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, when asked by journalists whether Biden believed the Russian president was, literally or figuratively, a murderer, said the US president was keeping his "concerns" about things he " angry or problematic "don't find back. As examples, she cited electoral interference, the poison attack on the Kremlin critic Navalny and cyberattacks.
The Russian reaction to the interview was angry. For the first time in more than 20 years, Russia ordered its ambassador to the United States back to Moscow. The diplomat Anatoly Antonov will return to the Russian capital for consultations, the embassy said.
She also warned of a "collapse" in relations with Washington. "Certain ill-considered statements by high-ranking US officials have brought the already overly confrontational relations to the brink of collapse," said the diplomatic mission, referring to Biden's verbal attacks against Putin.
Russia asks Biden to apologize
The US State Department said it was taking note of the Russian ambassador's recall. A spokeswoman added that the US ambassador in Moscow would remain at his post despite the crisis in order to maintain "open communication channels" and "reduce the risk of misjudgments between our countries".
The deputy chairman of the Russian upper house, Konstantin Kosachev, called on the US government to apologize. "Such statements are unacceptable under all circumstances and will inevitably seriously damage our bilateral relations," he wrote, referring to the Biden interview on Facebook. Since taking office in January, Biden has taken a much tougher stance towards Moscow than his predecessor Donald Trump, who was accused of being too close to the Kremlin chief.
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