When interviewer George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if he thought Putin was a murderer, the president said: ‘Mmmmm.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that there had been no such thing in history.
He said it was clear that Biden “certainly did not want to improve relations” with Russia and that relations between the two countries were “very bad.” Asked how this could affect relations, Peskov said “it is absolutely clear how” but refused to elaborate.
“These are very bad statements from the President of the United States. He certainly does not want to improve relations with us, and we will continue to do so,” Peskov said.
Peskov said there are currently no plans for Putin to meet with Antonov, but if necessary, Putin will hold talks with him.
In the interview, Biden also claims that he told Putin in 2011 that he did not think Putin had a soul. Putin’s response, Biden recalls, was to say, “We understand each other.”
“Look, the most important thing to do with foreign leaders, and I’ve had a lot to do with them in my career, is just to know the other guy,” Biden told ABC.
The report is the most comprehensive assessment of foreign threats for the 2020 election to date, with an outline of extensive influence operations by US opponents who wanted to undermine confidence in the democratic process, and also targeted specific presidential candidates.
The president will not provide ABC with details on what “price” Putin will pay, but Biden’s government is expected to announce sanctions on election interference as early as next week, three U.S. State Department officials told CNN. The officials did not release any details related to the expected sanctions, but said they would be in several countries, including Russia, China and Iran.
Anna Chernova, reported Zahra Ullah from Moscow, wrote Rob Picheta in London.