White House on Possibility of Putin-Biden Meeting

The meeting between the presidents of the United States and Russia that was previously discussed is no longer scheduled, although the Biden administration is not closing the door on diplomacy, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

“At this point, it is certainly not in the plans,” she said in response to a question about the possibility of a summit, as reported by RIA Novosti.

Earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the cancellation of a meeting scheduled for February 24 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“As Blinken said, it would be inappropriate for him to meet with his counterpart Mr. Lavrov at this time, and the meeting was perceived as a communication that could have led to any interaction with President Putin,” she added.

She insists that Washington will not shut down diplomatic communications, even if Russia escalates the situation.