changing the subject

After 'constructive' meeting with Biden, Putin asks, 'Who's the killer now?'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his meeting with President Biden in Switzerland on Wednesday was hostility-free, adding that "on the contrary … it was very constructive." Putin described Biden as a "balanced and professional man, and it's clear that he's very experienced," and said "it seems to me that we did speak the same language."

But despite painting a rosy picture of the sit-down, Putin also got some shots in during his post-meeting press conference, including a reference to when Biden described him as a "killer" earlier this year. Putin was asked about allegations of Russian human rights abuses, and in response he changed the subject to police shootings in the United States, arrests of Capitol rioters, U.S. drone attacks in Afghanistan, and CIA prisons in Europe. "Who's the killer now?," he asked the media.

Observers pointed out the tactic is a tried and true Putin strategy.