Assistant to the Russian President: Putin and Biden may meet in June
Xinhua News Agency, Moscow, April 25 (Reporter Rukinbo) Russian Presidential Assistant Ushakov stated on the 25th that Russian President Putin and US President Biden may meet in June.
In an interview with Russian media, Ushakov said that the United States has sent a signal of hope that the leaders of the two countries will meet, but the final decision on whether to meet depends on many factors, and related work has not yet started.
Putin's meeting with Biden may be held in June, and there may even be a "specific date."
But he did not disclose the specific date.
Putin and Biden had a phone call on the 13th. During the call, Biden proposed to hold a summit with Putin in a third country to discuss bilateral relations in the next few months.
Biden said on the 15th that he has proposed to hold a summit with Putin in Europe this summer.
In addition, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova said in an interview with Russian media on the 25th that Russia is drawing up a list of unfriendly countries and has confirmed that the United States will be included in the list.
She said that one of the reasons Russia made the list of unfriendly countries was a series of unfriendly actions by the United States, and the United States would naturally be on this list.
According to the Russian president’s website, Putin signed a decree against foreign unfriendly behavior on the 23rd, and the Russian government will formulate a list of unfriendly countries based on the decree.
The decree stipulates that if foreign countries act unfriendly to Russian countries, citizens or legal persons, Russia will restrict diplomatic missions, consular agencies, and representative offices of state agencies in these countries from signing labor contracts and employment agreements with Russian individuals when necessary.
Zakharova said on the 25th that the decree signed by Putin is a response to unfriendly and hostile actions taken by other countries against Russia.
U.S.-Russian relations have continued to be tense in recent years.
Since the Biden administration came to power, the two sides have achieved limited cooperation in the field of arms control. However, there have been obvious differences in Ukraine, cyber security, human rights, and election interference, and confrontation has intensified.
On the 15th, the US government imposed large-scale sanctions on Russia and expelled 10 Russian diplomats on the grounds of “malicious activities” such as Russia’s cyber attacks and interference in US elections.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 21st the expulsion of 10 American diplomats in Russia in response.