Putin Responds to Biden Claim He’s a Killer: ‘Takes One to Know One’
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to U.S. counterpart Joe Biden’s claim he is a killer at a press conference on Thursday.
“I remember in my childhood, when we argued in the courtyard we used to say: it takes one to know one. And that’s not a coincidence, not just a children’s saying or joke,” Putin said, according to Reuters.
“We always see our own traits in other people and think they are like how we really are. And as a result we assess (a person’s) activities and give assessments,” he said.
“We know each other personally,” Putin said of Biden. “What would I reply to him? I would say: I wish you health. I wish you health. I say that without any irony or joke.”
«Что бы я ему ответил? Я бы сказал ему: будьте здоровы! Я желаю ему здоровья! Говорю это без иронии, без шуток»: Путин ответил на слова Байдена pic.twitter.com/NvhvtaPYps
— Дмитрий Смирнов (@dimsmirnov175) March 18, 2021
Putin’s comments come after Biden said, in an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, that the Russian president was a killer and would “pay a price” for meddling in the 2020 election, which had just been revealed in an ODNI report.
“What price must he pay?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“He will pay a price,” Biden said.
Stephanopoulos later asked: “So you know Vladimir Putin, you think he’s a killer?”
“Mmm-hmm, I do,” Biden replied.
Russian diplomats were less indifferent than Putin about those comments from the U.S. president.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking before Putin at Thursday’s press conference, said the comments were unprecedented in history.
“These are really bad remarks by the U.S. president. He has clearly shown that he doesn’t want to improve relations with our country,” he said, according to Reuters. “We will now proceed from that.”
In a Facebook post, Konstantin Kosachyov, the deputy chairman of parliament’s upper house, demanded an apology from Biden. He said without an apology, further action would be taken after Russia recalled its ambassador to the U.S.
“I suspect it will not be the last one if no explanation or apology follows from the American side,” he wrote.
