Biden ‘to meet Vladimir Putin in a mystery country this summer’ after he called Russian leader a ‘killer’
PRESIDENT Joe Biden will meet with Vladimir Putin face-to-face this summer after he called the Russian leader a "killer" and imposed strict sanctions on the nation for election meddling.
Biden has reportedly offered to meet Putin on June 15-16 in a European country, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported, though no specific date or location has yet been agreed upon.
Further straining relations is Russia's large military build-up on its border with Ukraine and the ailing health of imprisoned Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
Speaking on Russian state television on Sunday, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov confirmed Putin and Biden were talking about meeting in June, adding: "there are even specific dates."
Those sanctions were also leveled against Moscow amid a surge of Russian military forces flocking to the Ukrainian border.
However, in a cooling of tensions last week, Moscow announced it would be recalling thousands of troops from the Ukrainian border and permitted doctors to visit Navalny in jail, who had been on a 24-day hunger strike.
Putin also agreed to take part in Biden's 'Leaders on Climate Change' summit last week.
Biden said he was looking forward to working with Russia to combat global warming and said he was "very heartened" by Putin's call for collaboration on new technologies, such as carbon removal.