London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Putin responds to Biden's 'killer' jab as Russia recalls its top U.S. envoy

Putin responds to Biden's 'killer' jab as Russia recalls its top U.S. envoy

Moscow responded angrily Thursday after President Joe Biden labeled Russian leader Vladimir Putin a "killer" and said he would “pay a price” for 2020 election interference. “Biden calling me a killer reflect what is Biden himself”
In a television interview on Wednesday Biden agreed when asked if Putin was a "killer" and said the Russian leader would “pay a price” for 2020 election interference.

Russia recalled its ambassador to the United States on Wednesday for "consultations" just hours after Biden's remarks, which the Kremlin later said were “very bad” and without precedent.

Asked about Biden’s comments during a video call on Thursday that was aired on Russian state TV, Putin said he wished his counterpart in Washington good health but charged that the comments reflected America's own troubled past.

While praising the American people, Putin said the legacy of slavery and the country's treatment of Native Americans weighed heavily on its dealings abroad.

"In the history of every people, every state, there are a lot of hard, dramatic and bloody events. But when we evaluate other people or even other governments, we always look as if into the mirror. We always see ourselves in it," Putin said.

"I remember when I was young and I got into fights with my friends, we always used to say 'whoever calls names is called that himself,'" he added.

"And that’s not just a children’s joke. The meaning is quite deep psychologically. We always see our own qualities in another person and think that he/she is like ourselves. And coming from that, evaluate his/her actions and evaluate him/her overall."

Putin's response was delivered during a call with residents of Crimea marking the anniversary of its 2014 annexation from Ukraine. He added that Russia would still cooperate with the U.S. where it serves Moscow’s interests.

The comments came shortly after the Kremlin said Biden's remarks suggested that he “definitely does not want to improve relations" between the two countries.

"I won't be wordy in reaction to this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "I will only say that these are very bad statements by the U.S. president."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not cite specific reasons for recalling ambassador Anatoly Antonov on Wednesday, but Russia’s embassy in the U.S. released its own comment early Thursday blaming “certain ill-considered statements of high-ranking U.S. officials” for putting the "already excessively confrontational relations under the threat of collapse."

During Wednesday’s interview with ABC News Biden said that Russia would face consequences for meddling in last year’s presidential election after a declassified report from the U.S. national intelligence director’s office found earlier this week that Putin authorized influence operations to help former President Donald Trump in last November’s election.

“(Putin) will pay a price,” Biden said, asked about the report. Biden did not disclose what price Putin could pay, only saying, “you will see shortly.”

The Kremlin had earlier dismissed the allegations in the report as baseless.

Asked if he thinks Putin is a killer, Biden said, “I do.”

Biden also confirmed that he once told Putin the Russian leader doesn’t "have a soul." He said Putin responded to the comment, made during a visit to the Kremlin as vice president in 2011, by saying "We understand each other.”

Putin's response was likely for a domestic audience, said Mark Galeotti, a professor at the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies and a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank.

"Biden's words were unusually blunt — and he is an experienced enough politician that he would not have answered the question directly had he not wanted to do so. However, it is still unclear what it means, given that so far this administration has talked tough on Russia without following up with more than token actions."

"He could just as easily be using this kind of language to distract from the absence of serious action as to presage it."

"In that context, the withdrawal of Ambassador Antonov for consultations is as much as anything else a signal from Moscow that the USA should not push things too far," Galleotti added.

The State Department said Wednesday that it was aware of Russia’s decision to recall its ambassador.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said the Biden administration will take a more straightforward and direct approach in its relationship with Russia than former President Donald Trump.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have been strained since Biden took office.

In coordination with the European Union, the U.S. announced sanctions earlier this month against senior members of the Russian government over the poisoning and detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny after his poisoning with a nerve agent last year.

The sanctions were the first to target Moscow since Biden became president and opened a comprehensive review of U.S.-Russia policy, including the Kremlin's actions against Navalny, interference into the U.S. election, the Solar Winds hack and reported bounties offered to Taliban-linked groups to target U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Since Biden's inauguration, the only moment of cooperation between the two nations came when the U.S. and Russia extended a crucial nuclear arms control treaty last month.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×