Joe Biden does not have the respect of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and as tensions with Russia increase that could be a dangerous thing.
On Tuesday the Russian president snubbed Biden, who offered to meet with him as Russian troops gather near the Ukrainian border, The Daily Mail reported.
A readout of the call showed that Biden asked for a meeting in a neutral third nation and the White House said that Biden “emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” But it did not include Putin’s response to the offer.
“President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia,” the readout said.
The Kremlin declined to respond to the proposal and went on to insist that the phone call had taken place at Washington’s request, keen to make it appear that Biden had come crawling to his adversary…
Biden’s call to Putin took place hours after Russia’s deputy foreign minister warned Washington to keep its warships away from the Black Sea ‘for their own good,’ saying it risked turning the region into a ‘powder keg’.
Sergei Ryabkov said the decision to deploy two ships to the Black Sea is ‘a provocation’ designed ‘to test our nerves’ as he called the US ‘an adversary’, ramping up a war of words between the countries.
The USS Donald Cook and USS Roosevelt destroyers are thought to be on their way to the Black Sea from a naval base in Spain and due to arrive tomorrow and Thursday, according to Turkish sources which are responsible for policing the straits leading to the sea.
This is far from the relationship that Donald Trump had with Putin and as tensions increase the lack of a relationship is troublesome.
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that a meeting would be contingent on how the United States behaves.
“While it is too early to talk about the place and time, it still has to be coordinated through diplomatic channels, including further concrete actions,” he said, Russia’s RIA news agency, reported
“Of course, further elaboration of the proposal for a meeting in one of the European countries is possible only taking into account the analysis of the real situation and further steps of our counterparts,” he said.
On Sunday Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed both the Russia and China issues and said “it would be serious mistake” for China to go after Taiwan and said he had “real concerns” about Russia gathering tis forces near the Ukraine.
“I’m not going to get into hypotheticals,” he said of the possibility of the United States bringing military intervention, but he promised that there would be “consequences.”
“We have a commitment to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, a bipartisan commitment that’s existed for many, many years, to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself, and to make sure that we’re sustaining peace and security in the Western Pacific. We stand behind those commitments,” Blinken said.
“And all I can tell you is it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force,” he said.
“As we speak right now,” he said on the NBC show “Meet The Press,” “I have to tell you I have real concerns about Russia’s actions on the borders of Ukraine. There are more Russian forces massed on those borders than at any time since 2014 when Russia first invaded. That’s why we’re in very close contact, in close coordination, with our allies and partners in Europe.”
“President Biden’s been very clear about this. If Russia acts recklessly, or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences,” he said.