The Kremlin condemned President Biden for referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a killer.
When asked by ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos if he thought the Russian leader was a “killer,” in an interview that aired on Wednesday, Biden said, “I do.” The comment, which came on the heels of a U.S. intelligence community report alleging Russia attempted to damage Biden and the Democratic Party, led to the recalling of the Russian ambassador.
‘HE WILL PAY’: BIDEN WARNS PUTIN OVER INTELLIGENCE REPORT CONCLUDING RUSSIA MEDDLED IN ELECTION
“It takes one to know one,” Putin said during a televised video conference, according to Bloomberg News. “I would say to him: I wish you good health.”
The same day the interview aired, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov was summoned back to Russia for consultation purposes, a spokesperson for the Kremlin said.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Biden’s comment a “very bad statement by the U.S. president” that showed “he doesn’t want to normalize relations,” according to the Associated Press.
“We will proceed accordingly,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters, noting that “there was nothing like that in history.”
Putin authorized Russian government organizations to conduct operations “denigrating” Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party while supporting former President Donald Trump, the report released on Tuesday said. But, “unlike in 2016,” U.S. intelligence officials said they “did not see persistent Russian cyber efforts to gain access to election infrastructure.” The report said officials had “high confidence” in their evaluation.
Biden warned that Putin “will pay a price” in Wednesday’s interview. “We had a long talk, he and I. I know him relatively well, and the conversation started off, I said, ‘I know you, and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared.'”
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Konstantin Kosachev, a deputy speaker of the upper parliamentary body, called Biden’s comments a “boorish statement,” and said they are “unacceptable under any circumstances,” and that “they inevitably lead to a sharp exacerbation of our bilateral ties.”
The report also revealed that stories about Hunter Biden, the president’s son who has been accused of unethically profiting off his father’s governmental role, were “heavily amplified” by Russia throughout the 2020 election cycle. It does not say any report about Biden was fabricated by the Kremlin, but rather they were spread with the help of a Russian government effort aimed at “denigrating” the elder Biden’s candidacy.
