Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that it takes one to know one in response to Joe Biden saying he believed Putin was a killer. Putin added that he wished Biden good health, without any irony or a joke.
“I remember in my childhood, when we argued in the courtyard we used to say: it takes one to know one. And that’s not a coincidence, not just a children’s saying or joke,” Putin said.
“We always see our own traits in other people and think they are like how we really are. And as a result we assess (a person’s) activities and give assessments,” he said.
“As he (Biden) said, we know each other personally. What would I reply to him? I would say: I wish you health. I wish you health. I say that without any irony or joke,” Putin added.
A Kremlin spokesman prefaced Putin’s remarks by characterizing Biden’s remarks as “really bad” and U.S.-Russia relations as “really bad.”
The response comes after Biden described Putin as having no soul, and that he would pay for meddling in the U.S. elections.
On Wednesday Russia also responded by recalling its ambassador to the United States for consultations about future relations.