F.P. Report
MOSCOW: Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remarked on Friday, saying that the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden may still take place on Monday, if the US is unable to hold the discussion.
Giving hopes for dialogues, he added that the Kremlin is also ready to hold the talks at any time convenient for Biden.
He further added that the White House has not accepted the offer to hold live talks between the Russian and US leaders yet.
Putin offered his US counterpart Biden to hold an open dialogue live on Friday or on Monday. The Russian Foreign Ministry is already working to organize a conversation of President Putin and his US counterpart.
On this matter, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki clarified that Biden would be on a working trip to the US state of Georgia on Friday, so it is improbable that he will be able to hold talks with Russian President Putin.
Furthermore, the Kremlin Peskov commented that they are informative, saying that “This means that it the discussion cannot take place today. But as President Putin said, it’s either Friday or Monday, because on the weekend, Putin won’t be in very comfortable conditions to organize communication with the US president, so Monday is still an option. Another option is to hold the talks at any time convenient for the US president,”
Russia is at present initiating the talks between Putin and Biden via diplomatic channels and it will wait for a response, Peskov added. He further added that “And now, in light of President Putin’s initiative, the Russian side is showing initiative itself and sending it via diplomatic channels. It will wait for a response,” Peskov said.
It should be noted that the first phone call between the Russian and US leaders after Biden’s inauguration was held on the initiative of the US.
He explained that “action is taken to request such a contact” between both leaders via diplomatic channels.
The existing technologies make it possible for Putin and Biden to hold a conversation via a secure video link, according to Peskov.
He further mentioned that “There are video links and video conferences.” “In fact, video conferences have become an important part of life in all countries.” On the matter of security for communication, the Russian presidential spokesman said “Thank God, communication technologies allow the Russian and US leadership to maintain contact through secure channels”
He further added that the conversation between the two leaders was supposed to be open to the public, adding that “You know, there are open and secure channels. There are secure video channels that can be opened to the public. Actually, Putin meant a public conversation that would be open to the people of the two countries”.
When speaking about what questions Putin would ask his US counterpart, Peskov said:
Regarding the questions Putin might ask his counterpart Peskov remarked that “The presidents must have many questions for each other.” “There are issues that concern bilateral relations… There are issues related to ongoing allegations against Russia, aimed at putting all the blame on Russia.”
The Kremlin will regard the absence of a US clear response to Putin’s proposal for an open dialogue as a refusal, Peskov said.
“An inquiry has been made and there is either an answer or the absence of an answer to it. The absence of an answer is generally a refusal from such communication,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
On the question of refusal of US, Peskov remarked that “They will hardly continue indefinitely.” “An inquiry has been made. No attempts are needed here,” he said.
Speaking about what an open dialogue meant and whether this would be a live broadcast and journalists would be able to observe the talk, the Kremlin spokesman said that “there are no details and can be none so far” adding that “We do not even know about the Americans’ decision so far. Naturally, it is possible to speak about any specific formats only after getting a response from the US side,” Peskov said.
On the other side of the picture, US President Joe Biden commented in an interview with ABC on March 17 that the Russian leadership would have to “pay a price” for Moscow’s alleged attempts to meddle in the US presidential elections.
The point to ponder is that Biden also answered in the positive way when asked whether he considered Russian President Vladimir Putin a “killer.”
