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GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Director of National Intelligence came out with a report today saying that Vladimir Putin authorized operations during the election to under — denigrate you, support President Trump, undermine our elections, divide our society. What price must he pay?This is truly a historic interview and a watershed moment in US-Russia relations. Let's deconstruct what is happening here:
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: He will pay a price. I, we had a long talk, he and I, when we — I know him relatively well. And I- the conversation started off, I said, "I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared."
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You said you know he doesn't have a soul.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I did say that to him, yes. And — and his response was, "We understand one another." It was- I wasn't being a wise guy. I was alone with him in his office. And that — that's how it came about. It was when President Bush had said, "I looked in his eyes and saw his soul." I said, "Looked in your eyes and I don't think you have a soul." And looked back and he said, "We understand each other." Look, most important thing dealing with foreign leaders in my experience, and I've dealt with an awful lot of 'em over my career, is just know the other guy. Don't expect somethin' that you're- that — don't expect him to- or her to- voluntarily appear in the second editions of Profiles in Courage.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: So you know Vladimir Putin. You think he's a killer?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Uh-huh. I do.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: So what price must he pay?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: The price he's gonna pay we'll- you'll see shortly.
Speaking on Thursday, Putin suggested that Biden may be projecting, noting that evaluating other countries "is like looking in a mirror."Peskov diplomatically called Biden's insults "very bad." And as the Saker noted, Russia has recalled its ambassador to Moscow:
"When I was a kid, when we were arguing with each other in the playground, we used to say, 'Whatever you say [about others] is what you are yourself,'" Putin added.
Putin also noted that Washington is "determined" to have a relationship with Moscow, but only on "issues that are of interest to the United States itself."
"Even though they think we are like them, we are different people. We have a different genetic and cultural and moral code," he said.
According to the president, the US will have to deal with a Moscow that will fight for and stand up for its own interests, even if Washington doesn't wish to engage.
"The US will have to reckon with this, despite their attempts to stop our development via sanctions and insults," he said.
Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, has been recalled to Moscow for in-person discussions on the country's ongoing relations with Washington and Joe Biden's administration, the Foreign Ministry has said.Hopefully Russia is preparing for the worst, because with a senile president, and a demented foreign policy establishment, things don't look good.
In a statement announcing the envoy's recall on Wednesday night, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the ambassador was needed in Moscow for "consultations to analyze what to do and where to head in the context of the relations with the US." Representatives of the Foreign Ministry and other relevant agencies will participate in the discussions with Antonov about US relations going forward, she added.
With the Biden team in power for almost two months, it was a good time to analyze "where it succeeds and where it fails," she added.For us, it's important to determine possible ways of straightening out Russian-American relations, which remain in harsh conditions after being effectively led into a dead end by Washington in recent years.Moscow is "interested in avoiding the irreversible degradation" of its ties with Washington, Zakharova said, expressing the hope that Biden's officials also understood the risks of such a scenario.
Asked whether he believes Mr Putin is a "killer" in a pre-taped interview that aired on Wednesday, the president responded: "I do."
"The price he's going to pay, you'll see shortly," he said.
Mr Biden recalled meeting Mr Putin, during which he reportedly told him that he "doesn't have a soul": "I wasn't being a wise guy."
"He looked back at me and said, 'We understand each other'," Mr Biden said.
"We assess that Russian President Putin authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden's candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the US," the report informs us. "A key element of Moscow's strategy this election cycle was its use of proxies linked to Russian intelligence to push influence narratives-including misleading or unsubstantiated allegations against President Biden - to US media organizations, US officials, and prominent US individuals, including some close to former President Trump and his administration."
"We assess that Iran carried out a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut former President Trump's reelection prospects - though without directly promoting his rivals - undermine public confidence in the electoral process and US institutions, and sow division and exacerbate societal tensions in the US," the report adds. "We assess that Supreme Leader Khamenei authorized the campaign and Iran's military and intelligence services implemented it using overt and covert messaging and cyber operations."
Comment: The slips are coming more frequently: