Putin hopes Biden less impulsive than Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced hope Friday that US President Joe Biden will be less impulsive than his predecessor Donald Trump, ahead of his first summit with the new US leader.
In an interview with NBC News, Putin described Biden as a "career man" who has spent his life in politics.
Though he described relations with the United States as having "deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years," Putin said he expects he can work with Biden.
"It is my great hope that, yes, there are some advantages, some disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse-based movements on behalf of the sitting US president," he said, according to a translation by NBC News.
"I believe that former US president Trump is an extraordinary individual, talented individual... He is a colorful individual. You may like him or not. But he didn't come from the US establishment," Putin was quoted as saying.
Biden plans to raise a range of US complaints, including over purported Russian election interference and hacking, in the summit with Putin on Wednesday in Geneva at the end of the new president's first foreign trip.
Putin also dismissed as "fake news" a report in the Washington Post that Russia is planning to supply Iran with an advanced satellite system that would allow it to track potential military targets.
Meanwhile, the White House yesterday said Biden will give a solo news conference after his meeting next week with Putin.
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