With Biden, Putin is rather conciliatory but remains on his positions

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 4, 2021. via REUTERS - SPUTNIK

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

"

Our relations are at a very bad level, we must find a way to regulate them

": rather conciliatory statement by Vladimir Poutine, questioned on the summit which will take place with Joe Biden in ten days in Geneva.

The Russian president is rather conciliatory but he remains on his positions: if the relations of his country with the United States have deteriorated in recent years, it is entirely the fault of the Americans. 

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With our correspondent in Moscow,

Daniel Vallot

Russian President Vladimir Poutine has been able to be aggressive in recent weeks, we remember his desire to "

break the teeth

"

to countries that would attack Russia.

He decided this time to show a more pleasant face. It is true that he was speaking not to Russian patriotic associations, but to foreign entrepreneurs in the very courteous framework of the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum. 

"

We must find a way to regulate our relations which are today, as everyone knows, at a particularly low level,

" said Vladimir Poutine.

As to why the Americans act as they do with us is a puzzle for me!

But I am sure that our relationship has become hostage to political considerations in the United States, and I hope that will end one day.

The fundamental interests of strategic stability are still more important than domestic political life in the United States.

"

► To read also: 

For Joe Biden, Vladimir Poutine "is a killer" and he "will pay the price"

And if we evoke the repression of the opposition in Russia, Vladimir Putin turns the argument around by pointing to the way in which the demonstrations are repressed in Europe and in the United States.

"

If a European lost his eye while demonstrating, are we going to tell him that it was a democratic gun that snatched it from him?

», Pretends to be indignant Vladimir Poutine.

The Russian president also mentions the fate of supporters of Donald Trump accused of invading the Capitol last January.

Joe Biden has warned that he will address the issue of human rights at the Geneva summit.

Obviously, Vladimir Putin already knows his answers like the back of his hand. 

► To read also: 

First tête-à-tête between Biden and Putin scheduled for June 16 in Geneva

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• Russia

• United States

• Vladimir Poutine

• Joe biden