Washington declined Putin-Biden discussion, says Russian Foreign Ministry
The United States has declined Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to hold an “open discussion” with U.S. President Joe Biden, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, March 22.
“We regret to note that the American side has not supported the proposal made by President of Russia Vladimir Putin to U.S. President Joe Biden to hold a live-broadcast discussion on March 19 or 22, 2021, on the problems that have accumulated in bilateral relations, as well as on the subject of strategic stability. One more opportunity has been missed to find a way out of the deadlock in Russian-U.S. relations created through the fault of Washington. Responsibility for this lies entirely with the United States.”
In conversation with journalists earlier in the day on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed that Putin’s schedule for March 22 didn’t include a conversation with Biden. “As far as I understand, the American side wasn’t ready,” he said.
In an interview published on March 17, U.S. President Joe Biden said he considers Vladimir Putin to be a “killer.” The Russian president responded a day later with a schoolyard retort that translates loosely to the phrase: “Look who’s talking!” Several hours later, Putin invited his American counterpart to take part in a “discussion” broadcast online. Putin suggested this take place on March 19 or 22, or at any other time convenient for the U.S. president. Commenting on Putin’s proposal, Biden said: “I’m sure we’ll talk at some point.”