Psaki pressed on Biden ‘weakness’ over Putin summit amid Black Sea U-turn

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday was grilled on President Biden’s decision to agree to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin without setting conditions — with one reporter asking if the decision could be seen as “weakness.”

The president offered a summer summit in Europe during a Thursday call with Putin after Biden appeared to blink on a decision to send warships to the Black Sea over Russian aggression in Ukraine. The Pentagon ordered a U-turn by two US destroyers. A reporter asked Psaki at her daily press briefing, “Why would you announce a summit intention without a commitment? … A high-level meeting of this sort is often a point of leverage with the world leader … why aren’t there conditions?”