Garry Kasparov Slams Biden Over Geneva Summit: ‘Putin Got What He Wanted’
Garry Kasparov, outspoken Vladimir Putin critic and chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, said on Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s meeting with the Russian leader should not have happened.
Earlier in the day, as the summit got underway, Kasparov said just having the meeting is itself “good for Putin” and criticized Biden for not taking stronger actions against Russian aggression.
We know the summit is good for Putin, or he wouldn’t do it. And everything Trump did was about Trump. But Biden? It’s not about him. To give such a gift to a killer who attacked the US, you have to make the case to the American people and he hasn’t tried.
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) June 16, 2021
Kasparove appeared on MSNBC as the world was awaiting Biden’s press conference, and reiterated that “the idea of inviting Putin was a mistake, and it gave Putin… a huge platform.”
“The only good news,” he continued, “it was shorter than I expected, so there was not much damage done. But Putin got what he wanted. That’s why he was beaming with joy when he left the summit and went into the press conference.”
Andrea Mitchell asked Kasparov if there was anything Biden could say “that would make you think this was worth doing.”
Kasparov said he doubts it.
You don’t make progress with a thief who robbed your house by talking with him in Geneva. Of course Putin enjoyed it. And again, I was pleased to see that the meeting was much shorter than expected. Now it’s not about Biden being tough while just putting in an ultimatum. It’s about actions. And so far, Biden was failing the test.
Chuck Todd asked Kasparov what actually would change Putin’s behavior, because what the U.S. has tried before didn’t work.
Kasparov said one thing Biden could to do “send a message to Putin” is meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
You can watch above, via MSNBC.
