Russia Recalls its US Ambassador for Consultations after Biden Comment on Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with participants of the We Are Together nationwide volunteer campaign at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 4, 2021. (Kremlin via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with participants of the We Are Together nationwide volunteer campaign at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 4, 2021. (Kremlin via Reuters)
TT
20

Russia Recalls its US Ambassador for Consultations after Biden Comment on Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with participants of the We Are Together nationwide volunteer campaign at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 4, 2021. (Kremlin via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with participants of the We Are Together nationwide volunteer campaign at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 4, 2021. (Kremlin via Reuters)

Russia on Wednesday called its ambassador to the United States back to Moscow for consultations on the future of US-Russia ties after US President Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin would "pay a price" for alleged election meddling.

Biden made his comments after a US intelligence report supported longstanding allegations that Putin was behind Moscow's election interference in the United States, an accusation Russia called baseless.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had called its ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, back to Moscow to discuss the future of Russia's relationship with the United States.

The move was designed to ensure bilateral ties did not degrade irreparably, it said.

"The main thing for us is to determine the ways in which the difficult Russian-American relations that Washington has led into a dead end in recent years could be rectified," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on its website.

"We are interested in preventing their irreversible degradation if the Americans recognize the risks involved."



Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday.

A planned public papal audience set for Saturday had been cancelled "due to the health condition of the Holy Father", the Vatican said in a brief statement.

A papal mass scheduled for Sunday will still take place, but will be led instead by a senior Vatican official, it added.

The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope's drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a "complex clinical situation". They described it as a "polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract".

Doctors say polymicrobial diseases can be caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed, and in recent times has been prone to lung infections.