Putin will not congratulate Biden on July 4, Kremlin says

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech in front of the monument "Fatherland, Valor, Honor" near the headquarters of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (SVR), in Moscow, Russia June 30, 2022. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will not congratulate his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Monday's U.S. Independence Day because of Washington's "unfriendly" actions towards Moscow, the Kremlin said.

"Congratulations this year can hardly be considered appropriate," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "The United States' unfriendly policies are the reason."