He pledged to defend Russia's interests vis-à-vis the United States

Putin responds to Biden: The killer is the one who describes the other

Moscow has clearly confirmed that Biden's statements against Putin are unacceptable.

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Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin mocked his American counterpart, Joe Biden, who described him, the day before yesterday, as a "killer," saying: "The killer is the one who describes the other as that", before reaffirming that Moscow will defend its interests in the face of the states United.

The recent debate seems to accelerate the entry of Russian-American relations into a new spiral of tension, although the two countries have confirmed, since the change of the US administration, that they want to cooperate in files of common interest.

Putin said, according to statements broadcast on Russian television, that "the killer is the one who describes the other with that."

The American president responded positively to a journalist who asked him whether Putin was a "murderer."

However, Putin added: "We will defend our interests and work (with the Americans) on terms that will be beneficial to us."

And Moscow had clearly confirmed that Biden's statements are unacceptable.

In an unprecedented move since 1998, the State Department summoned its ambassador to the United States for consultations on the future of Russian-American relations, which reached a "dead end."

The Russian embassy in Washington said that "the reckless statements of US officials could lead to the collapse of relations that are witnessing a major disagreement."

In a single reference to the attempt to de-escalate the escalation, the US State Department confirmed to Agence France-Presse that it does not intend to summon its representative from Moscow.

When the famous broadcaster, George Stephanopoulos, on the American ABC TV, asked Biden during an interview yesterday, if he considered that the Russian president was a "murderer," the US president replied, "Yes, I think so."

Then, in the same interview, he said that Putin would pay the "price" for interfering in the US elections, in 2016 and 2020, and Moscow has always denied these accusations.

Biden continued: "You will see the price he will pay soon."

All these statements were described by the speaker of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, as an "insult" to the Russians and an "attack" on his country.

Shortly before Putin spoke, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Biden's statements show that he has no desire to repair relations with Moscow.

Peskov added, "These are very bad statements. The US president has made it clear that he does not wish to improve relations with our country. We will now act on this basis."

He explained to reporters: "Certainly, nothing like this happened throughout history," describing the state of relations between the two countries as "very bad."

Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council in the Russian Parliament, Konstantin Kosacheov, said that Biden's statements are unacceptable, and will inevitably increase the flare up of already bad relations, and eliminate any hope Moscow has of changing US policy under the leadership of the new administration.

He added that summoning Moscow's ambassador was the only logical step that could be taken in such circumstances.

He continued, "I think it will not be the last unless an explanation or an apology is issued on the American side."

He said, "Such an assessment is not permitted to be made by a statesman of this stature. Such statements are unacceptable under any circumstances," adding that this is a watershed moment in US-Russian relations.

Russian-American relations in particular, and Russian-Western relations in general have been tense for years, especially after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, the war in Ukraine, and the conflict in Syria, in addition to the poisoning of the Russian opponent, Alexei Navalny.

A series of sanctions and counter-sanctions were imposed between the two parties, and the US government announced, the day before yesterday, that it is further expanding restrictions on the export of sensitive products to Russia.

Yesterday, the Group of Seven also condemned the "occupation" of Crimea by Russia.

Putin responded to Biden, during a video conference, with representatives of civil society in Crimea.

Since his arrival at the White House in January, President Biden has shown great assertiveness towards the Kremlin, contrary to the soft approach of his predecessor, Donald Trump, towards Russia.

However, the sudden deterioration of Russian-American relations since the interview, the day before yesterday, could threaten the emerging cooperation around files of mutual interest.

The most prominent example that Biden spoke about yesterday is the extension of the Treaty on the Limitation of the Two Nuclear Arsenals "New START" at the beginning of the year.

On the other hand, Biden reiterated his desire to "work" with the Russians when "the matter is in our mutual interest."

But the White House also stressed that the US president will not "silence his concerns about what he considers abusive actions."

America is studying the pressures and diplomatic options towards North Korea

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said yesterday that diplomatic pressure and options are on the table when dealing with North Korea, hours after a senior North Korean diplomat refused any talks before Washington changed its policies.

Blinken told a joint meeting in Seoul with senior South Korean officials that President Joe Biden's administration will complete a review of North Korea policy in the next few weeks, in close consultation with its allies.

He added that both pressures and diplomatic options are being discussed, but he declined to go into detail when asked about the approach the United States would take after the review.

The statements came after North Korea's First Deputy Foreign Minister, Choi Sun Hui, pledged that her country would ignore US attempts to establish contact so that Washington would meet Pyongyang's conditions, indicating that any move over the controversy over its nuclear weapons program remains elusive.

According to media reports, the United States has been trying to communicate with North Korea since mid-February.

"We have already made clear our view that there will be no contact or talks between North Korea and the United States, unless the United States backs down from its hostile policies to us, and we will continue to ignore its attempts to communicate with us," she added, according to the North Korean Central News Agency.

It accused Washington of adopting hostile policies and using "cheap tricks."

Choi stressed that "to establish a dialogue, an atmosphere must be provided for the two parties to exchange discussions on an equal basis."

And Pyongyang will ignore any future US attempts to establish contact.

With Choi's statement, North Korea confirmed for the first time that President Joe Biden's administration is trying to communicate with it.

Capitals - agencies

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