For Joe Biden, Vladimir Poutine "is a killer" and he "will pay the price"
US President Joe Biden, here March 15, 2021, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Poutin, here March 5, 2020. AFP - ERIC BARADAT, PAVEL GOLOVKIN
Text by: RFI Follow
7 mins
In an interview broadcast Wednesday, March 17 by the American channel ABC, President Joe Biden said to think that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Poutine is "a killer", promising that he would pay "the price".
Comments that Russia did not appreciate, in the aftermath of new accusations of Russian interference in the US elections.
The president of the Lower House of Parliament in Moscow notably spoke of an "insult" against his country.
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"
Vladimir Putin has attempted to interfere in the elections, he argued Donald
Trump," begins the star reporter of
ABC
, George Stephanopoulos, referring to the statements of the Director of National Security, before asking: "
Q
uel prices does he have to pay
?
"
He will pay a price,
"
replies US President Joe Biden, who adds: "
I know him relatively well,
"
reports our correspondent in Washington,
Anne Corpet
.
The reporter the stimulus "
V
ou have said he had no soul
," the president replied: "
Yes, I said it.
I was alone with him in his office and it just happened.
President Bush said he looked him in the eye and saw a soul there.
I said
:
"I look you in the eye and I do not think you have a soul."
He replied
:
"We understand each other".
"
The journalist continues: “
D
o you know Vladimir Poutine.
Do you think he's a killer
?
"
Yes, I think so,
" replied the president.
And the journalist insists: “
So what price should he pay
?
"
You will see it soon
", evades the president.
Joe Biden says Vladimir Putin "is a killer" and he "will pay the price"
Anne Corpet
Joe Biden did not say whether he was thinking of the poisoning of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny in August, blamed by US intelligence in Moscow.
The opponent was imprisoned on his return to Russia
after five months of convalescence in Germany, and Washington is demanding his release.
►
To read also:
The Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny says to be detained in a "concentration camp"
In response to the poisoning,
the Americans have already sanctioned seven senior Russian officials in early March
.
"
We had a long conversation with him and me
," said the Democratic leader.
At the start of the conversation, I told him
:
"I know you and you know me, if I come to the conclusion that you did this, be prepared"
for the consequences
", he reported, without specify what exactly he was referring to.
Joe Biden, however, wants to "
work
" with the Russians
Since his arrival at the White House in January, President Biden has displayed
great firmness towards the master of the Kremlin
, as opposed to the benevolence often criticized for his predecessor Donald Trump even in his Republican camp.
Joe Biden, however, reiterated
that he wanted to be able to "
work
"
with the Russians "
when it is in our common interest
", like the extension of
the New Start nuclear disarmament agreement decided shortly after coming
to power. .
"
Attack on
" Russia
But his comments were not appreciated in Moscow.
In a first reaction from a senior Russian official, the President of the Lower House of Parliament and close to Vladimir Poutine denounced "
hysteria due to impotence
".
"
Putin is our president and an attack on him is an attack on our country,
" Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram account.
"
With his statements, Biden insulted the citizens of our country,
" added the man who was number two in the Russian presidential administration between 2011 and 2016.
New Russian interference in the 2020 elections
US intelligence is also conducting a review of various other facts that the United States has already openly suspected in Russia, including a recent giant cyberattack and the payment of bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.
In a brand new report, the American authorities have also accused "
actors linked to the Russian government
" of new electoral interference in 2020,
after that of 2016
.
Vladimir Poutine "
will pay the consequences
", Joe Biden also said on this subject.
Russia also denounced the accusations of electoral interference on Wednesday (March 17th).
This report is "
incorrect, completely unfounded and without evidence,
" Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"
Russia did not interfere in the previous elections
" of 2016 which resulted in the victory of Donald Trump "
and it did not interfere in the elections of 2020
" won by Joe Biden, he assured .
According to him, this report is a "
pretext to put back on the agenda the question of new sanctions
" against Russia.
►
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United States
Russia
Diplomacy
Vladimir Poutine
Alexei Navalny
Joe biden
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