Tag: vladimir putin

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‘Russia might be weaker than it seems’

The US President is all set to meet Putin on June 16 in Geneva….reports Asian Lite News

Three days before the US-Russia Summit, President Joe Biden said that “autocrat” Vladimir Putin was right to say that relations were at their lowest point in years, media reported.

He also suggested that Russia might be weaker than it seemed and that Moscow had overreached in the Middle East, it was reported.

During the G7 summit in UK, Biden said that the world’s richest democracies now faced an existential contest with “autocrats” that would define the 21st Century, according to reports.

Biden was quoted as saying: “Autocrats have enormous power and they don’t have to answer to a public and the fact is that it may very well be if I respond in kind, as I will, that it doesn’t dissuade him – he wants to keep going.”

Russian President Vladmir Putin
ALSO READ: Putin hopes Biden less impulsive than Trump

The US President is all set to meet Putin on June 16 in Geneva.

According to reports, the meeting is expected to be a combative encounter after disputes over spying, hacking, election meddling, Ukraine, Belarus and human rights.

On Sunday, Putin said that the two countries need to engage in a constructive dialogue and establish mechanisms for interaction as there are areas in which Moscow and Washington can cooperate.

“[We need] to restore our personal contacts, relations, establish a direct dialogue, create really functioning mechanisms of interaction,” Putin said in an interview broadcast by the Smotrim.ru media outlet.

The president noted that the US side is well aware that there are a number of areas that are of mutual interest, such as strategic stability, regional conflicts, environmental protection measures, and climate.

“There are areas in which we can really work effectively,” Putin added

ALSO READ: Biden looks to rebuild NATO shaken by Trump

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Putin likens US behaviour to Soviet Union

Putin made the comments during a press briefing late on Friday as he spoke about US sanctions against Moscow…reports Asian Lite News

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the United States was wrong to think that it is “powerful enough” to get away with threatening other countries, a mistake, he said, that led to the downfall of the former Soviet Union.

Putin made the comments during a press briefing late on Friday as he spoke about US sanctions against Moscow, according to Russia’s news agency TASS.

He was speaking just days before a meeting with President Joe Biden whose cabinet in April imposed a broad array of sanctions on Russia, including curbs to its sovereign debt market.

“We hear threats from the Congress, from other sources. It is all done within the context of the United States’ domestic political process,” Putin was quoted as saying.

“The people who do this, they probably assume that the United States has such economic, military and political might that it can get away with that. It is no big deal, that is what they think.”
Putin said such behaviour reminded him of the Soviet Union.

“The problem with empires is that they think they are powerful enough to make some mistakes. We will buy these (people), bully them, make a deal with them, give necklaces to them, threaten them with battleships. And this will solve all the problems. But problems accumulate. A moment comes when they cannot be solved anymore.”

Biden and Putin will meet in Geneva on June 16, the White House and the Kremlin have said, to discuss “the full range of pressing issues”, according to Washington.

ALSO READ: Biden reinvigorates tariff war against India

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Putin’s visit to Pakistan on the cards

Both Pakistan and Russia have been working to materialise Putin’s visit….reports Asian Lite News

After Pakistan and Russia signed a fresh agreement to lay a gas pipeline, prospects of Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting Islamabad for the very first time were on the cards.

The project, previously named The North-South Gas Pipeline, has now been renamed as Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline, in which a gas pipeline will be laid from Pakistan’s Karachi city to Kasur.

It is a flagship project between the two countries, which intends to remove the memories of rivalry of the Cold War and bring both countries on the road to bilateral ties.

Both Pakistan and Russia have been working to materialise Putin’s visit.

In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Islamabad after a gap of at least nine years.

As per official details, Lavrov came with a message that Moscow was willing to extend all possible help to Islamabad and create pathways for bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has already extended a formal invitation to President Putin.

Experts have said that with the signing of the Pakistan Steam Pipeline agreement, the visit of President Putin has become even more significant and important.

Pakistan is anxious to have President Putin inaugurate the groundbreaking of the gas pipeline project, which is expected to be held later this year or in early 2022.

Pakistan and Russia are also seeking more avenues of cooperation.

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As per sources, Russia is keen on selling arms to Pakistan, something it avoided in the past because of opposition by India.

It is pertinent to mention that both countries have been holding regular joint military exercises since 2016.

Russia and Pakistan are also in close contact in the peace process and ongoing regional security issues including Afghanistan.

The Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline is a stepping-stone in normalisation of relations between the two countries, which has been strained for years due to Cold War rivalry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

The project was originally signed in 2015. However, it could not be initiated due to possible sanctions by the US on Russian companies.

Initially, Russia was to built 100 per cent of the pipeline under the “build, operate and transfer” model.

However, with the new and amended agreement, Pakistan will have at least 74 per cent stakes.

The total cost of the project is around $2.25 billion. It will be beneficial in meeting the gas shortage in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Analysts say that the project not only has economic significance but also holds great strategic importance for Pakistan.

ALSO READ: Biden vows to press Putin on human rights at Geneva meet

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Stage set for Biden-Putin summit

The reports came as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held consultations with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev…reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely hold a summit in Geneva in June, US media reported on Monday.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, several media outlets said that the Swiss city of Geneva is expected to be the venue for Biden’s first in-person meeting with Putin as President, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The reports came as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held consultations with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev. “The meeting was an important step in the preparation for a planned US-Russia summit, the date and location of which will be announced later,” the White House said in a statement on Monday.

The meeting between Sullivan and Patrushev was “constructive” despite “outstanding differences,” according to the statement. The two officials also discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, with a high priority given to the topic of strategic stability.

President Joe Biden (www.instagram.comwhitehouse)

“The sides agreed that a normalisation of US-Russian relations would be in the interest of both countries and contribute to global predictability and stability,” it added.

Relations between Washington and Moscow have been adversarial in recent years. The two sides have obvious differences on issues related to Ukraine, cybersecurity, human rights, and US election interference.

The Biden administration noted it seeks “a more predictable, stable relationship” with Russia. During their meeting in Iceland last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov expressed willingness to cooperate while admitting “serious differences” amid the two countries’ tense relations.

Biden said earlier this month that he expected to meet with Putin during his trip to Europe in June, when he would attend the Group of Seven Summit in Britain and then the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

ALSO READ: Erdogan slams Biden over arms sales to Israel

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Putin to run for two more terms

Russian President Vladmir Putin
The bill grants Putin the possibility of starting his presidency from scratch in 2024 and holding the office for two more terms until 2036…reports Asian Lite News.

Russia’s lower house of parliament the State Duma approved a bill, enabling incumbent President Vladimir Putin to run for two more terms starting 2024.

The draft law on elections, which was approved in the State Duma’s third or final reading on Wednesday, was made in pursuance of constitutional amendments adopted in a nationwide referendum in July 2020, Xinhua news agency reported.

One of the 206 constitutional amendments stipulates that the limit of two presidential terms applies to the incumbent head of state, but without taking into account his previous terms.

In light of the amendment, the bill grants Putin the possibility of starting his presidency from scratch in 2024 and holding the office for two more terms until 2036.

In accordance with the bill, a Russian citizen, who is at least 35 years old, has been a permanent resident of the country for at least 25 years, and has never held citizenship or a residence permit of a foreign state, can be elected Russian president.

The bill needs to be passed by the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, and then to be signed by Putin into law

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Read More-Putin invites Biden to virtual talks

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Russia ‘prepared for worst’ over US ties

JERUSALEM, Jan. 23, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the 5th World Holocaust Forum at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, on Jan. 23, 2020. Dozens of world leaders gathered on Thursday in Jerusalem to commemorate 75 years for the liberation of the Auschwitz camp and called on to combat the resurgence of modern-day anti-Semitism. (Yonatan Sindel/JINI via Xinhua/IANS)

After a break, it seems like the Washington-Moscow relations are deteriorating to its worst as both the leaders are trading jabs after the release of US intelligence report, reports Asian Lite News

The Kremlin said that it hoped for the best regarding relations between Russia and the US, yet it was also “prepared for the worst”.

President Vladimir Putin has already made it clear that Russia wished to maintain its relations with the US as this would be of advantage for the rest of the world, Xinhua news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Friday.

Nevertheless, “we cannot fail to take into account” US President Joe Biden’s words, Peskov added.

Also Read – Putin invites Biden to virtual talks

The Kremlin’s remarks came amid escalating Moscow-Washington tensions after a US intelligence report on Tuesday, accusing Russia of “denigrating” Biden’s candidacy during the elections to increase support for former President Donald Trump.

US President Joe Biden (Photo – @POTUS)

Peskov has stressed once again that those claims of Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2020 US elections were baseless and regretful, calling them just another pretext for additional sanctions.

On Thursday, Putin told local media that he would like to invite Biden to an online meeting to continue their discussions of bilateral ties.

Also Read – Russia warns West of retaliation

“I want to invite President Biden to continue our discussions, but on the condition that we do this actually live, as they say, online,” he said.

The discussions could be held soon, and the Kremlin is ready at any time convenient for the White House, Putin said, adding that he would give relevant instructions to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and then US President Donald Trump at the 2017 G20 Hamburg Summit

Earlier that day, Putin said that the US has to take into account Russia’s interests and Moscow is capable of protecting them.

He emphasised that Russia is prepared to work with the US in fields of mutual interest, but only on terms that are favourable for Moscow.

Also Read – EU sanctions Russian officials