Time, Venue of Potential Putin-Biden Meeting Remain Unclear, Russian Diplomat Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The time and venue for a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, remain unclear, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.

"This would be too early [to say anything], we have not even approached this," Ryabkov told reporters.

"The US side raised the issue, we are only beginning to analyse the situation ... Much depends on the United States' further behavior," the senior diplomat added.

Last week, the two presidents spoke on the phone and discussed a wide range of topics, including a strategic stability dialog between Russia and the US. During the conversation, Joe Biden suggested a bilateral meeting in person in the coming months.

At the same time, tensions between two nations have been tightening as the US has repeatedly accused Russia of interfering in the past presidential election. Following these accusations, the US introduced sanctions against several Russian companies and individuals, accusing them of links to the SolarWinds hack and purported meddling in the 2020 elections.

Additionally, in a March interview with ABC, Biden said that Putin will have to "pay a price" for suspected meddling in the presidential election, and that he considers Putin a "killer", when asked if this was the case.

Putin commented on Biden's remarks, wishing him good health and reminding him that evaluating other people is like looking in a mirror, and invited Biden to continue the discussion online.