“The President said he has no intention sit down with Vladimir Putin, and that’s where we are today,” Kirby said during a press briefing.
Read also: Biden vows grave consequences for Putin in case of use of nukes
In an earlier interview with CNN, Biden said the following: “Look, I have no intention of meeting with him, but look, if he came to me at the G20 and said, ‘I want to talk about the release of Griner,’ I would meet with him, but that would depend.”
Previously, Politico reported the United States is taking steps to avoid any potential Biden-Putin encounters at the November summit in Bali. The White House subsequently denied the report.
Read also: White House formulating contingencies for nuclear weapon use by Russia
Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were invited to the G-20 summit, scheduled for Nov. 15-16. Zelenskyy said the exact format of his participation in the even will depend on the situation in Ukraine.
Read also: Biden bans the exchange of special borrowing rights with Russia and Belarus
Putin did not rule out attending the summit in person, although the final decision has apparently not been taken yet.
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
