Given that Russia’s deadly conflict in Ukraine is still tearing the two nations apart, the Biden administration is secretly ruling out a meeting between the president and Vladimir Putin at the forthcoming G20 conference.
Even when Putin, whom Biden has referred to as a “war criminal,” said he wanted to go, the administration never promoted the possibility of a meeting.
In remarks last week that made it obvious he had no intention of starting a wider debate of the conflict, Biden maintained the prospect of a focused talk in response to Putin’s repeated attacks on the US and his continuous bombing of people in Ukraine.
I have no plan of meeting with him, but I would meet with him if he approached me at the G20 and said, “I want to speak about the release of [detained American Brittney] Griner,” Biden said.
According to Politico, authorities are even going so far as to suggest they want to prevent even a “sideline” casual encounter with Putin.
Officials from the United States have “ruled out” holding a formal meeting with Putin and are “taking efforts” to prevent them from running into one other in the corridor or posing for the customary “family picture.”
As his military launched a barrage of drone and missile assaults on civilian targets in Ukraine, garnering repeated censure from the West, Putin himself was sounding pessimistic about the odds.
The Russian president said on Friday that meeting Biden was “not necessary” and that his personal participation was “not finalized.”
China’s Xi Jinping, who is certain to gain a third term at the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing after ten years in power, is one dictator who Biden has already said he would meet with.
Months ago, Biden declared his openness to meeting Xi. Both in March, when the president threatened Beijing with repercussions if it supported Russia’s incursion, and in July, the two leaders talked on the phone.
Putin has been referred to by Biden as a “murderous despot,” a “pure thug,” and a “killer.”
The last time Biden spoke with an autocrat face-to-face, he didn’t gain much ground. However, the Saudis enraged the administration when OPEC+ opted to reduce oil output, a move that helped Putin finance his war and kept oil prices higher weeks before the U.S. elections. He received political blowback for his “fist bump” with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman last summer.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of Indonesia, whose country is hosting the summit, personally invited Putin in June while on a visit to Moscow.
President Volodymr Zelensky of Ukraine, whose country is not a member, was also invited on the pressure of the US and other world leaders. Zelensky said that he would go if Putin did.
Share on Facebook «||» Share on Twitter «||» Share on Reddit «||» Share on LinkedIn