News / Russia

Moscow says will ‘study’ Washington’s proposal on summit

Wednesday, 14 April 2021 3:29 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 11 May 2021 8:02 AM ]

The Kremlin says it will consider Washington’s proposal for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin as bilateral ties between the Cold War rivals have been pushed to the brink since President Joe Biden took office at the White House.

Biden proposed the meeting during a phone call with Putin on Tuesday.

A Kremlin statement said the two presidents discussed Ukraine, as well as the Afghan peace talks and climate change.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “early to talk about this meeting in terms of specifics.”

“This is a new proposal and it will be studied.”

There is still no set agenda for the summit, he said, adding that “without a doubt bilateral ties are important” in areas of mutual interest.

“We consider the concerns of anyone - including the United States – regarding the movement of our armed forces on Russian territory to be unfounded,” Peskov said.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov recently said Moscow had rejected as “unfounded” concerns raised by Washington over the situation in the eastern Ukrainian region of the Donbass. The Russian diplomat said the Western rhetoric on Ukraine was in an increasingly belligerent tone.

Russia recalls ambassador from US after Biden calls Putin ‘a killer’

NATO recently said there had been reports of Russian military movements near Ukraine's east.

Peskov said of the movements that they were in response to "increased activity of the armed forces of NATO countries, other associations, and individual countries."

Last month, a US cargo ship docked in Ukraine's Odessa port, delivering tons of military equipment and vehicles to the country's armed forces.

Russian warships stage Black Sea drills

Also on Wednesday, the Russian navy launched drills in the Black Sea ahead of the reported arrival of two US warships in the area.

“At sea, the ships’ crews will individually and jointly test fire artillery on surface and air targets,” Russia’s TASS news agency reported.

The maneuvers were also reported to involve naval aviation aircraft and helicopters, as well as air defense units.

Russia has warned that any attempt spearheaded by the West to start a new military conflict in Ukraine's war-torn east would culminate in the destruction of Ukraine.

Kyiv and Moscow have traded blame in recent weeks for a spike in violence in the Russian-speaking Donbass region, where Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia forces have fought a conflict that has killed 14,000 people by Ukraine's estimate since 2014.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir