WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he expected to be able to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon, adding that the time and place for their encounter were still being worked out.
Biden told reporters at the White House he wanted to meet Putin despite Russia’s build up of military forces near Ukraine.
“It does not impact my desire to have a one-on-one meeting and you’ll notice he had more troops before. He’s withdrawn troops,” he said.
Asked about a meeting, he said: “I’m confident we’ll be able to do it. We don’t have any specific time or place. That’s being worked on.”
The United States has said it supports Ukraine amid what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week called Moscow’s “reckless” troop build-up.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Edmund Blair)
