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Russia Recalls Ambassador Following Biden Comments

Steve Herman

   WHITE HOUSE - Officials in Washington are reacting calmly to Moscow
   summoning home its ambassador to the United States for consultations
   about the deteriorated bilateral relationship.
   The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, in explaining Anatoly
   Antonov's temporary return home, stated: "The most important thing for
   us is to identify ways of rectifying Russia-U.S. relations, which have
   been going through hard times as Washington has, as a matter of fact,
   brought them to a blind alley. We are interested in preventing an
   irreversible deterioration in relations, if the Americans become aware
   of the risks associated with this."
   The announcement from Moscow came shortly after a taped ABC television
   interview aired Wednesday morning in which U.S. President Joe Biden
   said Russian President Vladimir Putin "will pay a price" for his
   malevolent actions.
   Biden also recounted in the interview that he had told Putin, "I don't
   think you have a soul." He said Russian leader replied, "We understand
   each other."
   Asked by the ABC interviewer if he believes Putin is a killer, Biden
   replied, "I do."
   FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the Oval Office at the White
   House in Washington, March 11, 2021.

   According to a RAND Corporation adjunct senior fellow, William
   Courtney, "It is rare for a U.S. president to refer to the leader of a
   major adversarial power as a killer."
   Courtney, who was a negotiator in U.S. defense talks with the Soviet
   Union, told VOA that "sometimes ambassadors are withdrawn after
   insults."
   "And, of course, the Biden administration is talking about more
   sanctions with regard to the SolarWinds cyberattack. So, both of those
   could be factors" in the move by Moscow, he said.
   At Wednesday's press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki
   declined to specify whether the president believes the Russian
   president, literally or metaphorically, is a killer.
   "He's not going to hold back in his direction communications [with
   Russia]. He's not going to hold back publicly," Psaki said.
   When asked about Moscow recalling its ambassador, the press secretary
   said Biden's administration "is going to take a different approach in