US President Joe Biden (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. AFP Yonhap News
Conflict between the US and Russia over the’human rights issue’ has spread to the heads of the two countries. When US President Joe Biden referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a’killer’, President Putin immediately responded, saying, “You (Biden) can be called that too.” President Putin proposed a’face-to-face discussion’ by nailing a specific date. The cooler between the US and Russia, which is markedly different from the Trump era, is expected to continue for the time being.
President Biden replied “yes” to the question of whether President Putin was viewed as a murderer in an interview on ABC broadcast on the 17th (local time). Although no detailed explanation was given, it seemed that the response was based on the judgment that the Russian government led the attempt to terrorize the opposition leader Alexei Navalni. The Biden administration has already imposed widespread sanctions against high-ranking Russian officials, government agencies, and related companies as a result of the relevant punitive measures, and it took effect on the 18th.
Of course, President Putin was upset. He criticized President Biden’s remarks at a meeting with social activists in the Crimean region, saying, “If you call others that way, you will be called so too.” He also criticized the fact that the United States is not entitled to speak of human rights, citing examples of past violations of human rights in the United States, such as the massacre of indigenous peoples, slavery, and the dropping of the atomic bomb during World War II. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov poured out a more primary criticism on the day, saying, “(Biden’s remarks) are’the words of a chicken’ that cannot be understood.”
Putin said in an interview with his TV broadcast that day, “I would like to propose to Biden to continue the discussion,” and expressed his desire to talk about the 19th or 22nd on the condition of’live online’. He also discussed a number of agendas, including bilateral relations, resolving regional disputes, and responding to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). Apart from this, Russia also took additional steps to summon Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov to the US on the 20th. The embassy said, “The crisis in the mirror relations is due to the intentional policy results of the United States,” and that Ambassador Antonov returned to Korea to discuss relations.
Russia’s successive precipitation appears to have been influenced by President Biden’s hard remarks, as well as the US National Intelligence Service (DNI) report released on the 16th. In its report, the DNI concluded that the Russian government attempted to maneuver for the election of former President Donald Trump in the US presidential election last year.
But White House spokesman Jen Saki said to reporters’ question on the day,’Do you not regret that President Biden called Putin as a murderer?’ The President made it clear that he did not intend to withdraw his remarks, saying, “It was a direct answer to a direct question.” Russia is also expected to continue a confrontation with no contact point for a considerable period of time as Russia faces the US’s repeated offensive against human rights and security as a link.
Isaac Kim reporter [email protected]
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