Kremlin slams Biden's accusations of genocide

MOSCOW

Russia considers US President Joe Biden’s accusation of genocide "unacceptable," said a Kremlin spokesman on Wednesday.

"We consider attempts at such a perversion of the situation unacceptable," Dmitry Peskov told a daily briefing in Moscow, adding that Biden is in no position to say such things, as the US’ hands are not clean, either in the past or recent times.

He then noted that Russia currently has no contacts with the US administration.

Speaking Tuesday, Biden said of the war’s economic impact on US families: "Your family budget, your ability to fill up your (gas) tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away."

Asked about the course of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, Peskov said there is nothing to report now, but that Moscow’s negotiator Vladimir Medinsky “continues to work very, very hard.”

On the arrest in Ukraine of opposition Ukrainian lawmaker Viktor Medvedchuk, Peskov said he is being persecuted for political motives and that Russia will closely follow his case.

On Tuesday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the arrest of Medvedchuk and proposed a swap with Russia of captured Ukrainian soldiers.

On the exchange proposal, Peskov stressed that Medvedchuk is a Ukrainian politician and citizen, and no one even knows if he wants to go to Russia.

Peskov said Medvedchuk could have left Ukraine many times since Russia’s “special military operation” began on Feb. 24 but he did not.

Medvedchuk is accused of treason and promoting terrorism, among other offenses.

At least 1,892 civilians have been killed and 2,558 injured in Ukraine since Russia started the war on its western neighbor on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be far higher.

More than 4.24 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.