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He criticized the U.S. on human rights, citing U.S. attacks in Afghanistan and the existence of the Guantanamo Bay prison.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lashed out at the United States on arms control, human rights, cyber-attacks, among other issues, after meeting with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden.
"The West believes that the Russian policy is unpredictable. Well, let me reciprocate. The U.S. withdrawal from the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty in 2002 wasn't predictable," Putin said at a solo press conference.
He criticized the U.S. on human rights, citing U.S. attacks in Afghanistan and the existence of the Guantanamo Bay prison.
"One single strike can kill ... (about) 120 people. All right, assuming this was a mistake that happens in a war, but shooting from a drone, (at) an unarmed crowd, clearly the civilian crowd, what is this about? How would you call that? And who's responsible for this?" said Putin.
"And how would you call this person? Who is the killer now?" he asked.
On Cyberattacks, Putin said that it is of vital importance globally, "for the United States in particular, and for Russia as well in the same volume."
Putin noted that his country has not yet received any response from the U.S. on Russia's request regarding cyber-attacks this year.
The White House on Wednesday posted on its website a U.S.-Russia Presidential Joint Statement on Strategic Stability.
The statement said that the two heads of state noted that the two countries "have demonstrated that, even in periods of tension, they are able to make progress on our shared goals of ensuring predictability in the strategic sphere, reducing the risk of armed conflicts and the threat of nuclear war."
"The recent extension of the New START Treaty exemplifies our commitment to nuclear arms control. Today, we reaffirm the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," said the statement.
The summit between Putin and Biden officially kicked off here Wednesday afternoon, the first of its kind since Biden took office in January 2021.
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