President Joe Biden said he has no plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the upcoming G20 summit, unless it's to discuss the release of imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Biden made the remarks during an interview Tuesday evening with CNN's Jake Tapper that focused on the president's assessment of his Russian counterpart's intentions. The interview reinforced the frosty relations between Moscow and Washington as Biden scolded Putin for threatening to use nuclear weapons to further his invasion of Ukraine. Biden signaled he was open to talking about the release of Griner, who has been imprisoned in Russia since February.
Tapper asked Biden if he was willing to meet at the G20—or Group of Twenty—in November, where leaders from the world's largest economies will gather in Bali, Indonesia.
"Look, I have no intention of meeting with him," said Biden. "But, for example, if he came to me at the G20 and said, 'I want to talk about the release of Griner,' I would meet with him."
A Russian court in August sentenced Griner, an Olympic gold medalist who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, to nine years in prison after she was found with a small amount of cannabis oil and vape cartridges at an airport outside of Moscow.
Biden and other administration officials have said Griner has been arbitrarily detained. The U.S. State Department has approached Russia with a reported deal that involves swapping Griner for Viktor Bout, an infamous Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death."
However, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier in October that the Kremlin hasn't taken the offer seriously.
Biden's interview comes the same day other leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries denounced Russia's escalation in Ukraine and possible war crimes from air strikes on Ukrainian cities over the last two days. In a joint statement released Tuesday, the G7 alliance—which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and U.S., as well as the European Union—also committed to financially backing Ukraine "for as long as it takes."
Speaking to Tapper as he anchored CNN Tonight for the first time, Biden said he wouldn't try to negotiate an end Russia's invasion of Ukraine with Putin.
"Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," he said.
Before interviewing Biden, Tapper ran a segment probing Putin's mental state and if he's willing to escalate his invasion of Ukraine into a full-blown nuclear confrontation with the U.S. and the Western NATO alliance. The segment included comments from top intelligence and military officials, such as Bob Gates and James Clapper, who described Putin as acting erratically.
"How are you sleeping ever since President Biden used the word 'armageddon?'" said Tapper.
Tapper referenced a speech Biden gave last week warning that Putin is "not joking" about using smaller tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but adding that doing so could result in "armageddon."
Biden told Tapper that he doesn't think Putin would use a tactical nuclear weapon, but called it "irresponsible" for the Russian leader to threaten to do so.
"And the whole point I was making was it can lead to horrible outcomes," said Biden. "And not because anybody intends to turn it into a world war or anything but once you use a nuclear weapon—mistakes that can be made and miscalculations. Who knows?"
Calder Hynes, spokesperson for Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, declined comment to Newsweek.
Update 10/12/22, 5:10 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and background.
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