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Moscow (dpa) - With his sharp remarks about Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden triggered widespread horror in Russia, but also received some encouragement abroad.

In an interview, Biden answered yes to the question of whether Putin was a “killer”.

Putin (68) responded on Thursday with an allusion to the age of the US colleague who is ten years older than him.

"Stay healthy!

I wish him good health, ”Putin said on Thursday when asked by a video operator what he thought of Biden's statements.

And he went even further by accusing the United States of killing blacks and Native Americans.

The Russian President said that Biden should look in the mirror.

With a view to its history, he accused the USA of “genocide against the Indian tribes” and the extermination of blacks.

"The United States is the only country on earth that has dropped a nuclear weapon - and on a country without nuclear weapons: against Japan at the end of World War II, against Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

There was no military reason for this.

"That was the direct extermination of the civilian population," said Putin.

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The Kremlin had previously described Biden's remarks about Putin as "very bad".

"Of course, there has never been anything like this in history," said Putin's spokesman Dmitri Peskov.

In the interview with the broadcaster ABC, Biden also said when asked that he had once openly told Putin at a meeting in the past that he thought he was soulless.

"I was alone with him in his office."

He looked Putin in the eye and said: "I don't think you have a soul."

Putin looked at him and replied: "We understand each other."

Biden said, referring to his long history as U.S. Vice President and Senator, he has dealt with many foreign leaders in his career.

It is important to know the other.

And he knows Putin pretty well.

Backing for Biden came from the EU, which gave Putin political responsibility for assassinations in Russia.

"Unfortunately, there is a long list of failed and successful assassinations against critical and independent personalities in Russia, including politicians and journalists," said the spokeswoman for the EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell.

"You know that as President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin is ultimately responsible for the Russian authorities, politics and actions."

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Many cases are not investigated and remain unsolved;

and the perpetrators would not be held accountable, Borrell said.

The EU imposed sanctions in two cases.

Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas did not want to comment on Biden's statements.

But he made it clear that the harsh criticism of Putin did not surprise him.

Since the new US president took office, it had been clear to him “that there would be a clear language in Washington after Russia”.

It is just as clear to him, however, that one has to rely “on dialogue and understanding” when facing the great global challenges, said Maas in Berlin.

The US had proven that when it extended the New Start disarmament treaty with Russia.

Putin also said that Russia is ready to cooperate with the US - but according to its own interests and on its terms.

Nonetheless, the Kremlin made it clear that Russian-American relations were “very bad”.

Biden has now shown that he has no interest in improving the relationship.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry ordered its ambassador Anatoly Antonov back to Moscow to protest Biden's remarks.

During consultations with Antonov in Moscow, the state of relations with the United States should now be analyzed, it said.

The prominent foreign politician Konstantin Kosachev described Biden's statements as completely inadmissible.

The deputy chief of the Russian Federation Council demanded an apology and threatened further action if this did not materialize.

The preliminary withdrawal of the Russian ambassador from Washington is already a very serious diplomatic process.

According to the US secret services, Russia also campaigned for then President Donald Trump in the November election and tried to harm Biden.

The Kremlin rejected this.

The rejection of Biden in Moscow is considered great - mainly because of his criticism of the human rights situation in Russia and because of the threat of tougher US sanctions.

Biden had announced new punitive measures against Russia.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210318-99-878913 / 2