White House: "Possibility of US-Russia Summit Disappears at This Time"

Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary [Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, stated on the 22nd (local time) that the possibility of a summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin has disappeared following Russia's announcement of recognizing the independence of separatist regions in Ukraine and the deployment of troops.

According to the Washington Post (WP) and others, Psaki referred to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's remark that the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov scheduled for the 24th is currently meaningless, saying at a briefing, "At this point, there is obviously no plan for a U.S.-Russia summit." This announcement came two days after the White House announced on the 20th that President Biden and President Putin had agreed in principle to hold a summit, and that the foreign ministers of both countries would meet first on the 24th to discuss the agenda.

Psaki said, "We have not completely closed the door on diplomacy," but added, "However, diplomacy cannot succeed unless Russia changes its course." She further mentioned the prerequisite for the summit as Russia taking steps to de-escalate tensions, emphasizing, "This means moving troops," implying the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Earlier, Secretary Blinken, immediately after a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the State Department just before the White House announcement, held a joint press conference where he said that Russia's invasion has begun and stated, "There is no longer any point in meeting with Minister Lavrov," and revealed that he had sent a letter to Minister Lavrov notifying him of the cancellation of the meeting.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.