Germany Silent On Possibility Of Hosting Biden-Putin Summit

The German government refused on Friday to comment on whether the country is ready to host a possible meeting between the Russian and US leaders in the near future

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2021) The German government refused on Friday to comment on whether the country is ready to host a possible meeting between the Russian and US leaders in the near future.

Joe Biden proposed to hold a summit in a third country during a phone call with Vladimir Putin late on Tuesday. The Kremlin responded hours later, saying that it would study the idea.

"I must say that we are not considering such an issue now. We welcomed that the US president made a proposal for such negotiations and a meeting, but I have nothing more to say about it," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters.

The official also refused to give an assessment of the new US sanctions against Russia, but reiterated Berlin's solidarity with Washington on the issue of hacker attacks.

On Thursday, Washington expelled 10 Russian diplomats and imposed a new round of sanctions on Moscow, targeting dozens of Russian nationals and companies, over the SolarWinds cyberattack, reports of bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan and attempts to interfere in the US 2020 elections all of which it blamed on Russia's alleged malign activity.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, said Russia's response was "inevitable," noting it would be worked out and announced in the near future.