Vladimir Putin on Friday asserted that Russia’s bilateral relationship with the United States of America has reached its lowest point in years, noting that US president Joe Biden differs in character than Donald Trump. In an interview with American media outlet NBC News, Putin hardly concealed his admiration for ex-president Trump, calling him an “extraordinary” and “talented” individual, while he referred to Biden as a career politician disparate with such traits.
Putin’s statements regarding US-Russia relations come just ahead of his meeting with Biden at Geneva next week. “We have a bilateral relationship that has deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years,” news agency Reuters quoted Putin as saying, citing transcripts of the interview put out by NBC News. The Russian president also took his time to refute allegations against his regime on a host of issues, ranging from alleged ransomware attacks against the US emanating from Russia, aggression against Ukraine jailing of dissidents, and questionable foreign policies in the Middle East.
The deaths of several dissidents of Putin’s regime, including that of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned in 2006, have over the years been directly blamed on Moscow. When asked about these incidents, Putin simply dismissed the question as “verbal indigestion”, adding that some of those accused in the murder cases are already in prison.
