Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 4, 2021. (ANATOLY MALTSEV / POOL / AFP)
WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with NBC News on Friday said that Russia-US relations are at their lowest point in years.
"We have a bilateral relationship that has deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years," Putin said in the interview via translation.
However, Putin suggested that in spite of heightened tensions, he may be able to work with President Joe Biden in part because he’s more predictable than Donald Trump.
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“That’s a different kind of person and it is my great hope that, yes, there are some advantages, some disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse-based movements, on behalf of the sitting US president,” Putin said in the interview, which was conducted in Moscow.
In his Wednesday remarks to US troops and their families at Royal Air Force Mildenhall base in Britain, Biden said that the United States wants a stable and predictable relationship with Russia
Putin denied a Washington Post report saying that Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite that would enable Tehran to track military targets in the region.
"It's just fake news," Putin said. "At the very least, I don't know anything about this kind of thing. Those who are speaking about it probably know more about it. It's just nonsense, garbage."
Biden is on the first foreign trip of his presidency to Europe, and his highly anticipated meeting with Putin is scheduled on June 16 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Relations between Washington and Moscow have been adversarial in recent years. The two sides have obvious differences on issues related to Ukraine, cybersecurity, human rights, and US election interference.
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In his Wednesday remarks to US troops and their families at Royal Air Force Mildenhall base in Britain, Biden said that the United States wants a stable and predictable relationship with Russia.
"But I've been clear: The United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way if the Russian government engages in harmful activities," he warned.
With inputs from Agencies
