Topline
President Joe Biden stands by his description of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “killer,” the White House said Thursday afternoon, refusing to walk back a comment that’s escalated long-running tensions between the two countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 3, ... [+]
Key Facts
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a Thursday press briefing that Biden doesn’t regret making the comment during a Wednesday interview with ABC News, which she described as a “direct answer to a direct question.”
Psaki said Biden has worked through “many iterations” of relationships between the U.S. and Russia, and “believes we can continue to do that.”
After a tense morning, Putin also signaled that he hopes to continue working with the U.S., saying on state TV that he is ready to discuss bilateral relations with the U.S., as well as other issues like regional conflicts.
Putin also challenged Biden to a live debate, telling a Russian state television reporter, “I’ve just thought of this now ... It seems to me that would be interesting for the people of Russian and for the people of the United States.”
Key Background
Russia quickly denounced the comments made by Biden during the Wednesday interview in which he agreed Putin had orchestrated murders and said the Russian leader would soon “pay a price” for the alleged meddling in U.S. elections revealed in a declassified U.S. intelligence report released earlier this week. Exacerbating the U.S.-Russia tensions increasingly focused on Putin’s brutal behavior are new sanctions placed on the Russian government over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who claims Putin is responsible for nearly killing him. As the Kremlin demanded an apology and threatened retaliation Thursday morning, after pulling Moscow’s ambassador to Washington the day prior, Putin responded — “without irony,” he said — by wishing Biden “good health.” He also suggested that Biden was projecting the U.S.’s own problems onto Russia, retorting: “It takes one to know one.”
Crucial Quote
“I would tell him: Be healthy,” Mr. Putin said, in response to a question about Mr. Biden’s comments in a televised video conference on Thursday. “I wish him good health. I say this without irony, without joking.”
Chief Critic
Olga Lautman, a Russia and Ukraine researcher who has assisted authors like Craig Unger and Malolm Nance, described Putin’s comments as having “multiple purposes.” “One is a veiled threat using typical mafia language,” Lautman told Forbes. “The other is a distraction tactic to have everyone talking about what Putin meant while distracting from the actual panic setting in [at] the Kremlin due to sanctions and any further punishment by the White House.”
Tangent
The Russian government has been accused of involvement in other murders, including the 2018 poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England, and the shooting of a former commander of Chechen separatists in Germany.
Further Reading
“Biden Ramps Up Sanctions On Russia As Tensions Escalate Over Poisonings, Election Meddling” (Forbes)
“Russian Interference in 2020 Included Influencing Trump Associates, Report Says” (The New York Times)
