Russia on Wednesday shrugged its shoulders over President Biden’s proposal to meet with President Putin for a personal summit as U.S. ships steam to the Black Sea to counter Moscow’s growing military presence in the region.
The White House said Biden had extended the invitation to Putin during a call on Tuesday in which Biden warned the Russian leader not to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and reprimanded him for interfering in the US election.
But Moscow remained non-binding.
‘It’s too early to talk tangibly about this meeting. This is a new proposal and it will be studied, “said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that more talks would take place at diplomatic level.
“The parties are not yet planning a series of topics to discuss. There is no preparation for this meeting yet,” Peskov said.
Feelings are still rife among Cold War enemies after Biden last month named Putin a “murderer” who would pay a price for interfering in the election, and Moscow responded by recalling its ambassador from Washington.
In the call on Tuesday, the White House said Biden “made it clear that the United States will certainly act to defend its national interests in response to Russia’s actions, such as internet intrusions and interference in the election.”
Meanwhile, Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov has invited US Ambassador to Moscow on Wednesday to take part in the talks, warning that the Kremlin will react harshly if the US takes any “unfriendly steps”. , such as the imposition of sanctions.
Russia has assembled troops and armored vehicles near the border with Crimea, which illegally annexed Putin in 2014, incited sanctions from the West, and moved warships and landing craft from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea.
In return, the US sent two ships – the USS Donald Cook and the USS Roosevelt – to the area and they are not expected to arrive until Wednesday.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet held live firefighting exercises on Wednesday and the frigate Admiral Grigorovich successfully launched a cruise missile and reached a surface target, the Russian news agency Tass reported.
Earlier this week, two Russian ships, the Graivoron and Vyshny Volochyok, drilled into the Black Sea and destroyed targets in the air, the news agency reported.
At the same time, the Ukrainian army was training to repel a tank and infantry attack on the border with Crimea in an area where there has been an increase in fighting, which has been going on since Russian troops began the support for separatist forces after Putin annexed the peninsula.
The Ukrainian army has posted videos of tanks maneuvering and troops firing artillery guns.
With Post wires