The White House announced, on Tuesday, that there are no plans currently on the table for a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US president is generally open to diplomacy and talks at the highest level, but now, as Russia “escalates” the Ukraine conflict, it is not the time.
“We will not completely close the door to diplomacy,” she added, but stressed the need for a change of course on Moscow’s part.
A face-to-face meeting between Putin and Biden has been under discussion in the past few days. Biden had agreed in principle to a meeting and the Kremlin seemed open to it, according to the White House.
Psaki said there was never any specific timetable for another meeting between the two presidents. These details were scheduled to be discussed between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tomorrow, Thursday, but this meeting was cancelled.