Biden sees 'no reason' to talk to Putin
US President Joe Biden said he had no reason to speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, including about the Ukraine conflict. However, he also said he would not refuse to cooperate with any world leader.
According to RT, speaking to reporters on July 11 (US time), President Biden was asked whether he would still be able to "deal" with Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in a few years.
“I am ready to deal with them now,” he replied, noting that he remains in contact with Mr. Xi.
However, when referring to the Russian leader, President Biden said he “has no good reason to talk to Mr. Putin” at this time. The leader referred to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev: “I am not ready to talk to Mr. Putin unless Mr. Putin is willing to change his behavior.”
However, Biden later said he was willing to work with “any leader who wants to talk,” including Mr. Putin. He recalled that the last time the two leaders spoke in person, they discussed an arms control agreement regarding nuclear weapons in space.
The most recent phone call between Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin took place in late December 2021, weeks before the start of Russia's campaign in Ukraine, which sent bilateral relations plummeting to their lowest point since the Cold War.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last month that Russia was ready for talks with the US but only if the dialogue was “comprehensive” and included not only arms control issues but also the Ukraine conflict.
“It is impossible to remove any individual segment from the overall complex of accumulated problems,” Mr. Peskov said, acknowledging that both sides need to engage to solve growing problems in the global security architecture.
On July 11, according to RT, Mr. Putin's name was once again mentioned by Mr. Biden at a joint event in Washington when he confused Mr. Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine with the Russian leader.
