Takes one to know one: Putin on Biden’s ‘killer’ claim

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday mocked his American counterpart Joe Biden for calling him a “killer”, saying “it takes one to know one”—as ties between Moscow and Washington sank to a new low.

Biden’s comments sparked the biggest crisis between Russia and the United States in years, with Moscow recalling its ambassador for consultations and warning that ties were on the brink of outright “collapse”.

“We always see in another person our own qualities and think that he is the same as us,” Putin said, referring to Biden’s “killer” comment. “It takes one to know one,” Putin added, citing a saying from his Soviet-era childhood in Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Leningrad. “That’s not just a children’s saying and a joke. There’s a deep psychological meaning in this.”

Putin added that he wished Biden health. “I’m saying this without irony, not as a joke.”

In the interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Biden said that Putin would “pay a price” for trying to undermine Biden’s candidacy in the US election in 2020.

Asked if he thought Putin was “a killer”, Biden replied: “I do”.

His comments stood in stark contrast with his predecessor, Donald Trump, who was often accused of going soft on Putin.

In recent years Russia’s relationship with Washington has gone from bad to worse, but there were calls in Moscow Wednesday for Russia to pause diplomatic relations with the US after Biden’s comments.

Meanwhile, a top Russian official said that Biden must apologise and take back “boorish” allegations that Putin is a killer, a top Russian official said.

Biden’s remark is a “watershed” in relations and “unacceptable in any circumstances,” Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, wrote on Facebook Thursday. Moscow’s initial reaction—recalling its US ambassador—“won’t be the last, unless there is an explanation and an apology from the American side”.

The Foreign Ministry announced it was summoning Ambassador Anatoly Antonov for consultations in a statement late Wednesday. Warning of the risks of “an irreversible deterioration in relations” with the new US administration, the ministry said Russia still hopes to reverse the downward spiral in ties.