Kremlin says Putin agrees with Biden on need for dialog

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees with US President Joe Biden on the importance of dialog, following a proposal by Biden to hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart and as tensions between the United States and Russia ratchet up over a range of issues.

During a phone call with Putin on Tuesday, Biden proposed that they meet to discuss the issues between their two countries.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the Russian president agreed with Biden on the importance of dialog.

“In this regard, it is indeed good that the points of view of the two heads of state coincide on this,” Peskov said.

He emphasized that Putin “has repeatedly said that we are ready to develop our dialog, to the degree that our counterparts are ready for this.”

But he said the Kremlin was still considering the offer for a summit between the two leaders.

Meanwhile, Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto has offered to host a possible summit between Presidents Putin and Biden.

Despite his offer for a summit, Biden sparked anger in Russia by imposing a new round of sanctions on the country on Thursday. His administration also expelled 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation for alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election.

Biden described the new sanctions as a “measured and proportionate” response to Moscow’s hostile actions against Washington, and said the United States was “not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict.”

The Kremlin, which has repeatedly denied allegations of interfering in the US presidential election, described Washington’s “addiction for sanctions” as unacceptable and said the measures would not “help” the prospect of a summit.

Over the past six years, the US has imposed waves of sanctions against Russia, including over alleged meddling in its 2016 presidential election and the recent jailing of opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

Relations between the US and Russia hit a new low last month after Biden said in an interview that he believed Putin was a “killer” and that the Russian president would have to “pay a price” for interference in the 2020 US presidential election.

The latest phone call between Putin and Biden, the second between the two presidents since Biden took office in January, came as tensions are escalating in and over the Russian-speaking Donbass region of Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian forces have been fighting since 2014.

During the phone call, Biden told Putin that Washington would extend “unwavering” support for Ukraine.

The US has dispatched warships and fighter jets to Ukraine near the Russian border to support Kiev in the face of what Washington and Kiev call Russian threats.

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