The Kremlin has said that the US has no interest in improving ties with Russia and seeks an apology from President Joe Biden for calling Vladimir Putin a “killer.”
“These statements from the president of the United States are very bad. It is clear that he does not want to get the relationship with our country back on track, and we will proceed from that,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
President Biden had said “I do” to a question if he believed the Russian president was a killer in an interview on ABC News.
He also described Putin as having no soul, and promised he would pay a price for alleged Russian meddling in the 2020 US presidential election, an allegation the Kremlin denies.
Meanwhile, President Putin said that people tend to view others as they actually see themselves in response to President Biden’s interview, and quipped that he wished the US president good health.
Putin was speaking on national television on Thursday after Biden nodded in affirmative when asked if he believed the Russian president was a killer.
In a highly unusual move following Biden’s interview, Russia said it was recalling its ambassador to the United States for urgent consultations over the future of ties.
Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of parliament’s upper house, described Biden’s comments as unacceptable, and “would inevitably inflame already bad ties, and ended any hope in Moscow of a change of US policy under a new administration.”
He said Moscow’s recall of its ambassador was the only reasonable step to take in the circumstances.
“I suspect it will not be the last one if no explanation or apology follows from the American side,” Kosachyov said in a Facebook post.
“This kind of assessment is not allowed from the mouth of a statesman of such a rank. This kind of statement is not acceptable under any circumstances,” he added, calling it a watershed moment in U.S.-Russia ties.
Artur Chilingarov, a lawmaker in the lower house of parliament, called for a “tough reaction” from Moscow in an interview with radio station.
