Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin (70) has misjudged his war of aggression against Ukraine, according to US President Joe Biden (79). “I think he’s a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly,” Biden said in an interview scheduled to air Tuesday night (US local time).
Biden said that while he believes Putin is acting rationally, his goals in Ukraine are irrational. The incumbent US president discusses Putin’s choice of words and goals since the start of the war.
Putin’s “irrational” ideas
“If you listen to the speech he made after the decision (to go to war against Ukraine) he talked about the whole idea that he was needed to lead a Russia that would unite all Russian speakers. I mean, I just think it’s irrational,” Biden said, according to CNN.
Biden went on to say that Putin had incorrectly assumed that the Ukrainians would submit to a Russian invasion.
“He just completely miscalculated”
“I think he thought he would be welcomed with open arms, that this was Mother Russia’s home in Kiev, and that he would be welcomed there, and I think he just totally misjudged it,” Biden said.
The interview comes out on the day that there was a small approach from Russia. So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to meet with his US counterpart Joe Biden as part of the war in Ukraine. Apparently that has now changed. According to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (72), Russia would “not refuse” a meeting at the upcoming G20 summit.
Biden doesn’t want to talk to Putin
The Kremlin would consider the proposal if it came from the US, Lavrov said, according to the Reuters news agency. Russia is also ready to listen to proposals for peace talks. However, it is impossible to say in advance where this process will lead. The G20 meeting is scheduled for mid-November in Bali.
Asked if he will meet Putin at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next month, Biden says he sees no good reason to meet. “If Putin wants to talk about imprisoned American basketball player Brittney Griner, he’s open to a conversation.”
“But you see, he acted brutally, he acted brutally,” Biden told CNN. “I think he committed war crimes. And that’s why I see no reason to meet him now.”
Things are not looking good for Putin at the front. For several weeks now, the Ukrainians have been able to push back the Russian forces, and even the important bridge from the Russian mainland to Crimea has been attacked. Since the beginning of the week, Russia has again fired missiles at major Ukrainian cities. (euc/SDA)