VLADIMIR Putin accused the US turning Russia into “the enemy” as he said Joe Biden is “very different” to Donald Trump as the world leaders met in Geneva.
Putin was speaking to the press after some three hours and half of talks between himself, Biden and top officials from the US and Russia.
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The 68-year-old characterised discussions as “constructive” and said he hoped to reach agreements with Biden on issues such as nuclear weapons, cyber security and Ukraine.
Putin said the two countries just need to abandon various insinuations, sit down at the expert level and start working in the interests of the US and Russia.
And in one of the most charged exchanges, an ABC reporter asked him “Mr President, what are you so afraid of?” in relation to his brutal crackdown on the opposition activists in Russia.
Putin responded by claiming the US had branded Russia their “enemy” and accused them of backing anti-government opposition groups.
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It seemed to echo Putin’s long term fears that the US may attempt to sow unrest in an effort depose him.
And he was also quizzed about how Biden compared to his predecessor Trump, with Putin describing him as “very different”.
He said: “This is a very experienced politician. We had tête-à-tête for almost two hours.
“That’s not something you do in such a detailed way with many politicians… His predecessor had a different view.
“This one decided to act differently and his reply was different from Trump’s.”
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Putin also swiped at the US while facing further questions about human rights abuses in Russia.
He brought up gun violence, riots linked to Black Lives Matter, and the storming of the US Capitol on January 6.
“Look at American streets. People are getting killed there,” he said.
“You don’t have time to open your mouth and you’re shot dead.”
Putin also shrugged off questions about jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying he was a “repeat offender” who “deliberately wanted to be arrested”.
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Despite becoming prickly with the press – Putin insisted there was “no hostility” with Biden and revealed the US President even talked about his family.
Biden however did not invite him to the White House, with Putin saying their relationship is not at their level.
“It certainly doesn’t imply that we must look into each other’s eyes and find a soul or swear our affection but essentially our talks were pragmatic,” Putin said.
Both had said going into the summit they hoped for more stable and predictable relations, even though they were at odds over everything from arms control and cyber-hacking to election interference and Ukraine.
Talks broke at 5.05pm local time and the media were left awaiting duelling press conferences between Biden and Putin.
Biden is expected to address the media at around 6.30pm UK time – which is 7.30pm local time.
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He was seen leaving the Villa La Grange in his presidential limo The Beast – and will give a press conference from a separate location.
Biden flashed a thumbs-up to reporters as he left the lakeside mansion.
Biden arrived second for the start of the meeting at around noon, and decision to give a press conference second is likely again to be carefully planned out optics – allowing him to have the last word.
US officials opted to not let the two presidents share a stage as Putin and Trump did back in 2018.
It is believed to have been a signal of the new firmer stance towards Russia, but some of Biden’s critics said the decision not to face-off with Putin made him look “weak”.
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Putin and Biden were introduced to each other by Swiss president Guy Parmelin ahead of the meeting which was expected to set Russia and the US’s volatile relationship for years to come.
Joe extended his hand first, which was then grasped by Putin – who appeared to flash a sinister looking grin at the awaiting photographers.
“Mr President, I’d like to thank you for your initiative to meet today,” Putin said, adding he knew Biden “had a long trip and lots of work”.
Biden said: “It is always better to meet face to face.”
Sitting down with each other inside the venue, Putin said he hoped for a “productive” meeting – while Biden said he wanted “predictable” relations with Moscow.
Biden sat with his legs crossed ahead of the talks, while Putin reclined back into his chair and splayed his feet in a power stance.
The two men were joined by their top diplomats, US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
Tensions hung over the meeting as the press jostled with Russian security guards as they hurled questions at the two leaders.
Neither Biden or Putin responded as they posed for the awaiting photographers.
It came after the two leaders had already exchanged barbs, with the US President branding Putin a “killer” while the Russian leader described Biden as attempting to be “macho” and “Hollywood”.
Biden also described Putin as a “worthy adversary” as he pledged to confront him on various issues as relations hit rock bottom.
And the summit represented the first major diplomatic challenge for Biden since he took office in January and is the conclusion of his first overseas tour around Europe.
Election meddling, cyber attacks and military tensions over Ukraine are all expected to be on the table as Putin and Biden butt heads and squabble for status.
The two men’s relationship is forecast to be much more frosty than the Russian supremo’s quite chummy one with Biden’s predecessor Trump.
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Biden has been highly sceptical of the Russian leader for more than 20 years – and previously slammed former US President George W. Bush for claiming Putin is “trustworthy”.
One former US official told Politico ahead of this week’s meeting that there is “nothing Putin can do to make [the president] like him.”
“Biden sees Putin as someone who is rational, thuggish — someone who is not confined by any sense of morality or concern over human rights or anything of that nature … just a cold, hard realistic assessment of the man,” they said.
The pair have met previously, ten years ago when Biden was vice president.
Biden claims that during the meeting he told Putin he did not believe he has a soul – an apparent reference to Bush saying he saw the Russian leader’s “soul” during their first meeting in Slovenia.
“Mr. Prime Minister, I’m looking into your eyes, and I don’t think you have a soul,” Biden told a journalist of the March 2011 Moscow meeting.
Biden claimed that Putin smiled and replied “we understand one another” – but Putin denies that conversation ever took place.
Today’s meeting came after Biden has held multiple summits with some of the US’s top European allies and visited the UK for the G7.
