In an interview with CNN, US President Joe Biden made it clear that, in his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin completely miscalculated the war of aggression against Ukraine. While Biden considers Putin a "rational actor", his goals are irrational.
According to US President Joe Biden, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin misjudged his war of aggression against Ukraine. "I think he's a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly," Biden said in an interview that was scheduled to air in the evening, according to CNN.
Accordingly, Biden said that while he believes that Putin is acting rationally, his goals in Ukraine are irrational. "If you listen to the speech he gave after the decision (to wage war on Ukraine), he talked about the whole idea that he was needed to lead a Russia that would unite all Russian speakers. I mean, I agree just for irrational," Biden said, according to CNN.
Biden further said that Putin had wrongly assumed that the Ukrainians would submit to a Russian invasion. "I think he thought he was going to be welcomed with open arms, that this was Mother Russia's home in Kyiv, and that he would be welcomed there, and I think he just miscalculated completely," Biden said.
The Russian leadership, meanwhile, is open to a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Biden. If Washington were to offer a meeting at the G20 summit, Moscow would consider it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Russian state television.
According to him, the Kremlin would also be prepared to "listen to any proposals for peace talks" - for example, mediated by Turkey. However, he could not say in advance where this process would lead, Lavrov explained. He then further qualified that there had been no proposals to get in touch with the USA.
