US President Joe Biden does not intend to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin right now, the White House said on Friday. Earlier on Thursday, following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Biden had said he was ready to talk to Putin “if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he’s looking for a way to end the war”. He had added that the Russian leader “hasn’t done that yet”.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, when asked about Biden’s comments, told reporters the conditions for such discussions were not there.
“We’re just not at a point now where talks seem to be a fruitful avenue to approach right now,” he said.
“He’s got no intentions to talk to Mr Putin right now. And as he also said, Putin has shown absolutely no inclination to be interested in dialogue of any kind. In fact, quite the contrary,” Kirby told reporters.
Notably, reacting to Biden’s conditions for talks, Russia had said that West must recognise its “new territories” before any talks with Putin.
“The president of the Russian Federation has always been, is and remains open to negotiations in order to ensure our interests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov informed that Russia will continue with its offensive in Ukraine. He stated that US’ refusal to recognise territory in Ukraine that Russia has annexed is delaying settlement of the matter. Putin has proclaimed the southern region of Kherson and three other partly occupied regions of Ukraine as part of Russia. Most countries worldwide have refused to recognise the change.
Kirby also told reporters that it was upto Ukraine to decide on a negotiated settlement, which Kyiv says is possible if Russia stops attacking and withdraws from the country.
“The president wasn’t at all indicating that now is the time for talks. In fact, he has been consistent that only President Zelensky can determine if and when there’s going to be a negotiated settlement and what the circumstances around that settlement would look like,” Kirby said.
Biden has not spoken directly with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. However, he has signalled in recent weeks that Washington would like to entice Putin onto a diplomatic off ramp, after months of battlefield losses and stalled gains for Moscow.
(With inputs from agencies)
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