Russia rejected the summit between Biden and Putin due to the crisis in Ukraine: “It is very premature”

The Kremlin judged this Monday that it was “premature” to talk about a summit of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden announced by France to defuse the crisis around Ukraine and the danger of a Russian invasion.

“There is an understanding about the fact of having to continue the dialogue at the level of ministers (of Foreign Affairs). Talking about concrete plans for organizing summits is premature”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters.

“A meeting is possible if the heads of state (Russian and American) judge it useful”, he added, specifying that Biden and Putin always have the possibility to speak “on the phone or otherwise” when “it is necessary”.

• Russia and the US prepare summit for escalation of crisis in Ukraine

The proposal of the Putin-Biden summit came after a marathon diplomatic management by Macron, who held two extensive telephone conversations with Putin on Sunday, in addition to dialogues with Biden and the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky.

The French announcement came as Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of being responsible for renewed fighting in Ukraine’s separatist east.

According to the Kremlin, so far there are planned contacts between the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, as well as between the latter and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian. “We proceed from the fact that Lavrov will meet with his American counterpart this week. We also do not rule out contacts between the ministers of Russia and France,” he noted.

The Kremlin signaled that the dialogue would continue at the ministerial level

While, the White House had confirmed Biden’s willingness to meet with Putin. The United States is “engaged in diplomacy until such time as the invasion begins,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. “President Biden agreed in principle to a meeting with President Putin … if an invasion has not occurred,” she added.

The high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, had welcomed the possibility of the summit, highlighting the need to mobilize all possible diplomatic tools to avoid a war in Ukraine.

• Ukrainian Army Denies Shooting at Russian Border Post

In turn, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, expressed this Monday when arriving at a meeting with his counterparts from the European Union: “We think that it is worth trying any effort aimed at a diplomatic solution. We hope that the two presidents will leave the room with an agreement on the withdrawal of Russian troops.”