Despite what appeared to be a successful summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, tensions remain in the air over their disagreement with several issues. The Kremlin recently said it expects both countries to be pragmatic over talks of possible sanctions by the US against Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Moscow is aware of possible sanctions that would be imposed on them by the US. Peskov’s comments came as a response to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s comments that Washington is preparing sanctions to be imposed on Russia over the poisoning and incarceration of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“The president’s words about the constructive mood during the summit do not indicate that we have moved away from a sober assessment of our bilateral relations with the United States,” said Peskov. “Pragmatism and sobriety are most important in these relations. And both suggest that the constructive, positive results of the summit absolutely do not indicate that the United States will abandon its policy of containing Russia.”
Both leaders described the summit as pragmatic rather than a friendly one after meeting last week. It was Biden’s first meeting with Putin as the US President, as the two have previously met during his vice presidency under Barack Obama. Even when ties between the two countries remained strained, Putin praised Biden for his sharpness during their conversations.
Both leaders also pledged to have regular negotiations in an effort to lay the foundation of future arms control agreements while returning their respective ambassadors to their posts. The US and Russia are also set to discuss a return to normalcy regarding the work of their respective embassies. Nevertheless, the US remains concerned over the situation with Navalny, including Russian military buildup in the Ukraine border and cyberattacks.
During the summit, Biden also dismissed the comparison Putin made between Navalny and the rioters that stormed the US Capitol on January 6. The US leader also said that he believes Russia is in a difficult position at the moment due to China. Biden added that the world today has reached an inflection point regarding where it may be in 10 years.