Putin responds to Biden: Russia can't be 'put down' and US should learn respect

The Russian president rejects his US counterpart's comments, saying Moscow's interests cannot be suppressed

US President Joe Biden and Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrive for the US-Russia summit at Villa La Grange in Geneva, Switzerland Jun 16, 2021. Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday rejected comments by US President Joe Biden, saying in an interview in Beijing that Moscow's interests could not be suppressed, and that US politicians should learn to respect others.

Putin was responding to comments by US President Joe Biden in an interview with CBS News, where he said: "Imagine what happens if we, in fact, unite all of Europe and Putin is finally put down where he cannot cause the kind of trouble he's been causing".

In a brief interview aired on state television during a summit in the Chinese capital, Putin said: "This is not about me personally. This is about the interests of the country. And it is impossible to suppress the interests of Russia. They have to be taken into account."

Putin said that both Biden, with whom he has had an antagonistic relationship since the US president took office in 2021, and the wider American political elite needed to learn to "respect" Russia.

He said: "This applies not only to President Biden, but also to the US political elites as a whole. You must learn to respect others, and then there will be no need to suppress anyone."