« I don’t want to get into being diverted by ‘did they shake hands, who talked the most’ and the rest, » said the U.S. president.
U.S. President Joe Biden has defended his decision to hold a solo press conference without Russian President Vladimir Putin following their high-stakes meeting next Wednesday. During a press conference at the end of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in the U.K. on Sunday, Biden told reporters that he’s not conducting a joint conference with Putin because « this is not a contest about who can do better in front of a press conference and try to embarrass each other. » « It is about making myself very clear what the conditions are to get a better relationship with Russia. We’re not looking for conflict, we are looking to resolve those actions that we think are inconsistent with international norms, » he continued. « The bottom line is that I think the best way to deal with this is for he and I to meet. He and I have to have our discussion. » Biden added: « I know you don’t doubt that I’ll be very straightforward with him about our concerns and I will make clear my view of how that meeting turned out and he’ll make clear from his perspective how it turned out.
