Kremlin says Biden's remarks about Putin 'unacceptable'

MOSCOW

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized US President Joe Biden's remarks about his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as "unacceptable" on Friday.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov emphasized that when Biden "speaks so disrespectfully about the leaders of other countries," he "demonstrates behavior that is absolutely unacceptable for a head of state."

"I am referring to his statements about President Putin. This is unacceptable to us. We believe that this does not reflect well on the head of the American state. This is something we pay direct attention to and find absolutely unacceptable," he stressed.

Peskov declined to comment on whether Biden's slips of the tongue might affect his chances of being nominated for re-election, saying: "Let American voters determine the candidates' chances."

"We noticed, as did the whole world. It is clear that these are slips of the tongue. They have received such a wide response because of the domestic political discussions currently taking place in the US. But this is not our business, it is an internal matter of the US," he said.

At the NATO summit in Washington, Biden mistakenly called Ukrainian President Zelenskyy "President Putin."

"I hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin. President Putin! He’s going to beat President Putin. President Zelenskyy! I’m so focused on beating Putin. We got to worry about it," he said.

“I’m better than that,” Zelenskky said in response, after which Biden replied: “You are a hell of a lot better.”

Peskov also denied that Putin sent a message to Donald Trump via Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, emphasizing there were "neither written nor oral" messages for the former US president.

Addressing Kyiv's call for NATO countries to lift restrictions on missile strikes on Russia, Peskov said weapons produced in NATO countries are already hitting Russian territory.

The official warned that a possible increase in the range of such strikes would be "a provocation leading to an escalation of tension."

"We see statements from representatives of some capitals -- from London and others -- who no longer see any restrictions in this regard. We also see countries that are still trying to maintain some kind of balance and say they are against such liberalization of the regime for using these long-range missiles," he said.

He also dismissed claims alleging a Russian assassination attempt on the head of the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger. "Such reports cannot be taken seriously," Peskov said.

Commenting on the problems with access to the video platform YouTube in Russia, the spokesman said it was connected to equipment obsolescence, which has not been updated for more than two years.

On the recent arrest of a couple in Australia on allegations of spying for Russia, Peskov said: "Yes, they are Russian citizens, but they permanently resided in Australia, so we do not know the details of this case."