Talks between Russian and US Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, are held in an atmosphere of mutual respect rather than in a friendly atmosphere, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
"I did not say ‘friendly tone.' It was a mutually respectful, constructive and business-like tone. They are not friends. After all, they haven’t had many contacts yet," he said in an interview with RTVI.
He recalled that Putin and Biden had seen each other when Putin was Russia’s prime minister. "Back then, they had a meeting at the White House, at various international events, but they haven’t had many opportunities to speak to each other," he noted.
According to Peskov, contacts between the leaders of great powers cannot but be mutually respectful, but the leaders may not always agree with each other. "Here, we can state a very serious gap in the conceptual approaches on issues of paramount importance. Putin spoke about red lines and our national interests. Biden, in turn, spoke about his unpreparedness to recognize red lines. But the atmosphere was business-like and respectful," he said, adding that no more differences emerged between the sides but they "fixed them to the extent that they had already been."
The Kremlin spokesman noted that Putin feels equally comfortable with everyone he speaks with thanks to his expertise in international affairs and a vast record of contacts with world leaders. However, Peskov refuted allegations that there were hopes for an improvement in relations between the two countries under the United States’ previous president, Donald Trump. "Such expectations were cherished by anyone but professionals. Don’t forget that under Biden we maintain various communications channels and there was no communication under Trump. It was actually frozen," Peskov explained.
"It should be borne in mind that Trump is not a professional politician. It is a kind of phenomenon that broke into the United States’ politics, made a lot of fuss and quit politics. Biden is a professional politician who has gone through all the difficulties of American politics, from the very bottom to the very top. So, his expertise and professionalism cannot be overestimated. At least, I can say that it is comfortable for Putin and Biden to speak with each other because they get their positions across to each other, speak about the problem and give a clear answer - either ‘yes’ or ‘no,’" the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
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