“The main reason for him [to go] is the poor state of the relationship between our two countries. And a critical level of this relationship that demands a summit between our two countries because this is the only way … to prevent further degradation of our dialogue,” Peskov told CNN.
Next week’s high-stakes summit in Geneva comes as relations between both nations hit recent new lows in the first few months of the Biden administration.
The US announced sweeping sanctions in April, punishing Moscow for its interference in the 2020 US election, its ongoing occupation and “severe human rights abuses” in Crimea, and the SolarWinds cyberattack — one of the worst data breaches to ever hit the US government.
Russia’s ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov was recalled from Washington after Biden called Putin a killer in March. US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow after Russia suggested he return to Washington for consultations.
Biden told a hangar of US troops on Wednesday he…