Moscow:
The Kremlin mentioned on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden’s assessment of Russia as only obtaining nuclear weapons and oil was wide of the mark and betrayed a lack of expertise about the nation.
Biden made the remark on Tuesday throughout a speech in which he warned that if the United States ended up in a “real shooting war” with a “major power” it could be the outcome of a substantial cyber attack on the nation, highlighting what Washington sees as increasing threats posed by Russia and China.
Biden boasted that the US intelligence services have been superior to their Russian counterparts and mentioned Putin had “a real problem.”
“… He’s sitting on top of an economy that has nuclear weapons and oil wells and nothing else. Nothing else. Their economy is, what?, the eighth smallest in the world now, largest in the world? He knows he’s in real trouble, which makes him even more dangerous, in my view,” mentioned Biden.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Russia’s nuclear prowess and its massive oil and gas sector, but disputed Biden’s allegation.
“Claiming that there is nothing else in Russia is wrong,” Peskov told reporters. “This is incorrect knowledge and a misunderstanding of modern Russia.”
Peskov mentioned it looked as although Biden, who gave the speech when going to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), had tailored his message for his country’s intelligence neighborhood and wanted to make an impression.
Peskov mentioned the United States was an opponent of Russia even although efforts to normalise ties have been underway. Senior US and Russian officials started talks on Wednesday on strategic nuclear stability.
“(The United States) can hardly be called a partner. It is more like an opponent or a ‘vis-a-vis’,” Peskov mentioned. “Still the fact that experts are sitting in Geneva today is a positive sign.”
Peskov also rejected Biden’s allegations that Russia was currently interfering in the United States’ 2022 mid-term elections.
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