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Russia sets no preconditions for Putin-Biden summit — Kremlin

It is President Putin who will make the final decision on US President Joe Biden’s proposal to hold a summit in a third country in summer, the spokesman said

© Mikhail Klimentyev/TASS

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin set no preconditions for the presidential summit, proposed by his US counterpart Joe Biden during the recent phone call, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Friday.

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Biden considers phone call with Putin constructive, White House says

He recalled that the idea of such a meeting was initially voiced by the Russian leader.

"President Putin spoke about holding the meeting in the upcoming days or at any time later. He spoke about no preconditions," Peskov said, answering a corresponding question.

On March 18, when speaking on TV, Vladimir Putin offered Joe Biden to hold an open dialogue live. Washington did not reply to this offer.

In turn, the US president disclosed Thursday that he offered to hold an in-person meeting in a third country in Europe this summer. He claimed that the sides currently discuss this option.

Final decision is with Putin

It is President Putin who will make the final decision on US President Joe Biden’s proposal to hold a summit in a third country, Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"As for President Biden’s remarks, his proposal about a meeting closely overlaps with the one that President Putin made," Peskov noted. "It will certainly take time to assess the proposal and a response will be provided based on the head of state’s decision, at a time and in a form chosen by the Russian president," he added.

Climate summit

Vladimir Putin has not decided yet whether he will participate in the climate summit that he was invited to by US President Joe Biden.

"No, there is no decision so far, this matter is still being considered," the Kremlin spokesman said. He promised to inform the media when the decision is made.

Earlier, the White House noted in a statement that Biden had sent out invitations to 40 world leaders, including Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, to the virtual climate summit which Washington intends to organize on April 22-23.

Putin and Biden held a telephone conversation on Tuesday, which was initiated by Washington. It was their second phone call since Biden took office. According to the Kremlin press service, the two leaders thoroughly discussed the current state of bilateral relations and a number of international issues. The White House, in turn, said that Biden had suggested he and Putin hold a face-to-face meeting "in a third country" in the coming months.

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