Russia on Monday summoned the US ambassador and accused President Joe Biden of driving relations between Washington and Moscow “to the brink of rupture” by his “unworthy” statements aimed at Vladimir Putin.
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The statements of Mr. Biden, who notably called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for his offensive in Ukraine, “are unworthy of a high-ranking statesman”, estimated the Russian Ministry of Affairs. in a press release published after the summons of the American representative.
The ministry said it told US Ambassador John Sullivan that such remarks “bring Russian-US relations to the brink.”
He also claimed to have warned him that “hostile actions against Russia will be firmly and resolutely repelled”, adding that the question of the functioning of the respective diplomatic missions had been discussed, in the context of sanctions and several waves of expulsions. crossed.
Joe Biden first called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” last week.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced “unacceptable and unforgivable” rhetoric.
The spokesman for American diplomacy, Ned Price, for his part reaffirmed on Monday, in reaction to the summons of the ambassador, that the United States saw “clear evidence” that the Russians “intentionally target civilians and carry out indiscriminate attacks.
“President Biden’s comments last week” he said “refer to the horror of Russia’s brutality against an innocent neighbor”.
Ned Price did not want to confirm the risk of a “break” in diplomatic relations.
“We believe it is important to maintain channels of communication with Russia”, as well as an American embassy in Moscow and a Russian embassy in Washington, “especially during these times of tension” and “conflict”, a- he argues to the press.
“The Russians are constantly taking measures that call into question their own will to keep these lines of communication open,” he lamented.
The American spokesperson also affirmed that the American ambassador had “used this meeting to demand that the Russian government respect international law and basic human dignity, by allowing consular access to all nationals Americans detained in Russia”.
The “constant and undue” rejection of American requests in these senses in recent months “is totally unacceptable”, he insisted.
American basketball star Brittney Griner has been detained for more than a month in Russia, after being arrested at an airport near Moscow with “vapes and a liquid with a peculiar smell” of cannabis oil, according to Russian customs. .
Washington has also long demanded the release of Americans Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, imprisoned in Russia.