At a moment US mainstream media can't decide whether to praise or criticize Joe Biden's Wednesday summit with Vladimir Putin, press tensions which were made evident and symbolized in Biden's little end of press conference blow-up at CNN's Kaitlan Collins - the latter who apparently wasn't satisfied with the lack of Putin-bashing from the US president's mouth - Putin has on Thursday characterized the talks as "friendly".
Putin gave his own personal recap of interactions with Biden while speaking at an event at Russia's Higher School of Public Administration, saying "That portrait of President Biden drawn by our media and even the US media has nothing to do with reality," according to state sources.
"For our part, we will defend our interests. We are ready to continue this dialogue as far as the American side is ready," Putin said.
He presented the Wednesday summit as hugely important because "when people do not speak at all, more and more mutual claims and concerns arise where they otherwise would not exist."
Putin appears to have expected a much sleepier Joe Biden than what he got, and expressed surprise over it...
Characterizing the American leader as a "professional" and saying that Russia needs to work with him "very carefully so as not to miss anything," Putin said Biden looked very energetic at the talks despite the long distances he had traveled to be at the summit, and noted that during their hours of face-to-face talks, the US president showed himself to be in command of the issues at hand. Putin added that the...