U.S. President Joe Biden has said he is responding to a request by Russian President Vladimir Putin to hand over terrorists to the United States if Washington does the same in Moscow, just days before the two leaders meet in Geneva.
Biden and Putin will sit down in Switzerland on Wednesday instead first face-to-face meeting since Biden was sworn in as US president. The two leaders said over the weekend that relations between the two countries had deteriorated, but recent Biden comments suggest there may be an opportunity to work together.
Speaking at the conclusion of a G7 summit in the UK on Sunday, Biden told reporters that he was listening to Putin’s proposal to repatriate online retaliators who are causing havoc.
Earlier on Sunday, Russian television spoke to Putin while the Russian president said Russia and the US should “do the same”.
“Russia will only do this naturally if the other party – in this case the United States – agrees and will hand over the same terrorists to Russia.”
Asked about Putin’s remarks, Biden said: “Yes, I am informed, if there are any cases that have been committed in Russia, and that the perpetrators are being held in the United States, I am committed to holding them accountable.”
“He told me how I flew here, that [Putin] he said, “added Biden.” I think this is a sign that he is making progress. “
A sharp increase in redemption rates has crippled companies in recent weeks. This includes the inconvenience of Colonial Pipes which supply oil to the east coast of America, as well as work to JBS, a meat processing company in Brazil. The White House says it believes the whole attack started in Russia.
Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, later said Biden had not signed a “prisoner exchange”.
“What he was saying was that if Vladimir Putin wants to come and say I’m ready to make sure the terrorists are accountable, Joe Biden is willing to show up and say the terrorists can be prosecuted in America, because he already is. That’s what we do,” Sullivan told reporters on Air. Force One on its way to the Nato summit in Brussels, the second leg of Biden’s first foreign tour as president.
“This is not about exchanges or exchanges or anything like that.”
Putin told NBC News in an interview on Friday that relations between the US and Russia were “very low in recent years”. Biden on Sunday said he agreed with this, and also mentioned areas that believe the two countries can work together.
The White House confirmed on Saturday that Biden would hold a private press conference in a meeting with Putin on Wednesday, instead of sharing the same share of presidential candidates Donald Trump and Russian President Helsinki in 2018.
Queen Elizabeth received Jill and Joe Biden at Windsor Castle on Sunday afternoon after the G7 summit in Carbis Bay ended © AFP via Getty Pictures
“This is not a competition for who can do it right in front of the press or a debate,” Biden said. “I want to make myself clear what things are necessary for us to have a good relationship.
He added: “Russia has participated in what we believe is the opposite of what the countries are doing. But they are also facing other challenges. For example, the rebuilding of Syria, Libya.”
“I believe we can find a place that can save lives, for example, Libya.”
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