MOSCOW. March 17 (Interfax) - Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has sharply criticized a statement made by U.S. President Joe Biden on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"With his statement, Biden insulted our country's citizens. This is hysteria out of powerlessness," Volodin said on Telegram on Wednesday, adding that he regards attacks on Putin as attacks on Russia in general.
According to a report from the State Duma's press service, Volodin said this when commenting on Biden's answer to a question from a journalist with U.S. television program ABC News, as to whether he considers the Russian president a "killer."
"Today's statement by Biden is beyond common sense. The leader of a country that claims to play the role of a bearer of democratic principles and morals cannot behave like that," Volodin said, adding that "no one is allowed to talk about our president like that."
"There is only one possible reason for that: everything that the U.S. is doing to create problems for our country - sanctions, threats, blackmailing, interference in internal affairs - has all failed," Volodin said.