Russian envoy to U.S. back in Moscow after Biden calls Putin a killer:
TASS
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[March 22, 2021]
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's
ambassador to the United States arrived in Moscow on Sunday for
discussions on how to address sliding U.S.-Russia relations after U.S.
President Joe Biden said he thought Vladimir Putin was a killer, the
TASS news agency reported.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday it was recalling its
ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, for urgent talks after Biden said in an ABC
interview he thought President Putin was a killer who would "pay a
price" for alleged U.S. election meddling - an accusation that Moscow
denies.
Putin responded to Biden by citing a Russian children's playground chant
that "he who said it, did it", and offered to hold live online talks
with the U.S. president, a proposal Biden has not so far taken up.
The Russian embassy in Washington's social media accounts posted a
picture of Antonov in the early hours of Sunday morning at a U.S.
airport, with an Aeroflot plane idling on the runway.
"Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov is on his way to Moscow to
participate in consultations on rectifying Russia-U.S. relations," the
embassy said.
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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver
remarks after meeting with Asian-American leaders to discuss "the
ongoing attacks and threats against the community," during a stop at
Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 19, 2021.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Both countries have said they will only cooperate when it is in
their national interest to do so.
State TV's First Channel said Antonov told reporters before boarding
his plane that there a was a lot of work for the Russian foreign
ministry and others to do, but that he had no doubt that keeping
lines of communication open was in the interests of the American
people.
The channel then read out what it said were excerpts of letters sent
to Antonov by Americans before his departure, apologising for
Biden's comments about Putin.
TASS said a plane carrying Antonov had touched down at Moscow's
Sheremtyevo airport on Sunday morning.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Pravin Char)
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