Putin wishes Biden ‘good health’ after he calls Putin a killer

Russian President Vladimir Putin wished President Biden “good health” after Biden agreed Putin was a killer during an interview on ABC News.

“I would say to him: I wish you good health,” Putin said, according to Bloomberg News.

The comments came during a televised video conference in celebration of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, according to the news outlet. Putin said that Russia would have to work with the U.S. on its common interests despite their differences.

“Although they think we are the same as them, we are different people, we have a different genetic and cultural-moral code,” Putin said, according to Bloomberg. “But we know how to defend our own interests, and we will work with them but in those areas in which we are interested and on terms we consider favorable for us. And they will have to reckon with that.”

During the ABC News interview, George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if he thought Putin was a killer, Biden said “I do.”

Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of the Russian parliament’s upper house, demanded that Biden apologize for the remark. Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Biden made clear that “he doesn’t want to normalize relations with Russia.”

Biden also warned during the interview that Putin would “pay a price” for Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

Russia’s foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, following the remarks, saying in a statement that he was summoned for “consultations in order to analyse what needs to be done in the context of relations with the United States.”

The back-and-forth comes after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report that found Putin approved an operation to try to discredit and undermine Biden’s campaign in favor of former President Trump’s.