The White House on Friday clarified Joe Biden’s remarks the day before, insisting that the US president did not plan to discuss the Ukrainian dossier with Vladimir Putin at the moment.
“He has no intention of talking to Vladimir Putin at this time,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, which reports to the White House, said Friday.
“And as (Joe Biden) also said, Putin has shown absolutely no interest in any kind of dialogue, it’s actually quite the opposite,” he told reporters.
Joe Biden said Thursday that he was “ready to talk to Putin if he’s looking for a way to end the war,” noting that the Russian president “hasn’t done it yet.”
“If that were the case, then in consultation with my French and NATO friends, I would be happy to sit down with Putin to see what he has in mind. He hasn’t done it yet,” he told a conference. Joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Moscow rejects the proposal
The comments come closest to signaling Washington’s openness to a dialogue with the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine, but Moscow “obviously” rejected the proposal on Friday, understanding it implied a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, an option Russia not consider. .
John Kirby has also denied that the United States is pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to resume talks with Moscow.
“The president was not saying at all that the time had come for talks,” he said.
“The war could end today without negotiations if Putin does the right thing and leaves the Ukraine. His troops have no business there.”
Source: BFM TV
