Russia summoned its ambassador to Washington to “examine future relations with Washington” after Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin an “assassin” in an interview.
Moscow has summoned its ambassador to Washington to “examine future relations with Washington” after US President Joe Biden described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “murderer” in an interview with Vladimir Putin.
In a detailed interview with IBS News on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden accused Vladimir Putin of “interfering in the US elections” with accusations against the Russian president.
“You know Vladimir Putin,” Biden was asked by a network reporter. “Do you think he is a murderer?” “I think so,” he replied.
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned its ambassador to Washington to “examine future relations with the United States.”
According to Sputnik, the Foreign Ministry has invited Anatoly Antonov to Moscow for further consultations on the prospects of future relations.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow wanted to prevent escalating tensions in bilateral relations.
Joe Biden’s claim came after the release of a report by the American intelligence community. The report claims that Russia, through its deputies, has led a successful operation to infiltrate Donald Trump’s inner circle.
According to this claim, the Russian intelligence service, through agents close to Trump, has published false information about the US political system in order to weaken Joe Biden and his candidacy in the recent US elections.
Tensions between Russia and the United States have escalated over the years over a number of cases, including developments in Ukraine and allegations of involvement in the US presidential election, and Washington has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
In a latest move, the US Department of Commerce expanded export restrictions on Russia on Wednesday, accusing Russia of using chemical weapons in the poisoning of Russian-British spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.
A statement from the US Department of Commerce said: “The ministry is committed to preventing Russia from gaining access to sensitive US technologies that could be used for destructive chemical activities.”
Following the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, British authorities expelled 23 Russian diplomats, prompting a backlash from Moscow. Russian officials have repeatedly denied claims by Britain and its allies that they were involved in the attack.