In interview ahead of Biden meeting, Putin called a US Marine veteran imprisoned in Russia a 'drunk' who 'got himself s---faced'

• Trevor Reed got a long prison sentence over claims he drunkenly assaulted Moscow police officers.
• Joe Biden is expected to bring up Reed's case while meeting with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
• In an NBC News interview this week, Putin called Reed "just a drunk" who "got himself s---faced."

During a recent interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin called a US Marine veteran who is imprisoned in Russia a "drunk" who "got himself s---faced and started a fight."

Trevor Reed was sentenced last July to nine years in prison after being convicted of assaulting two Russian police officers while drunk in 2019. Last month he tested positive for COVID-19 in prison.

John Sullivan, the US ambassador to Russia, called the case against the 29-year-old "flimsy," and Reed's family has called on President Joe Biden to intervene.

Biden and Putin are set to meet in Switzerland on Wednesday for their first summit since Biden became commander in chief, and the US president is expected to bring up Reed's imprisonment with his Russian counterpart, NBC News reported, citing Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

But in an interview with NBC News that aired Monday, Putin said Reed's sentence was fair and labeled him a drunk.

"Your guy - the - Marine - he's just a drunk and - a troublemaker," Putin said, according to an NBC News translation. "As they say here - he got himself - shitfaced and - started a fight. Among other things, he - he hit a cop. It's - it's nothing. It's just a common crime. There is nothing to it."

Putin did eventually tell the interviewer Keir Simmons, however, that he was open to a prisoner swap.

In an interview with CNN's "New Day" later Monday, Reed's parents called Putin's remarks "offensive" and "difficult to hear" and called on Biden to bring him home.

"He's being held as a pawn to try and leverage concessions in a political dispute between our two countries in which he has no part," Paula and Joey Reed wrote in a statement, per CNN.

Biden has not addressed Reed's case publicly, but the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said in May that the US had raised the case "at the highest level," Reuters said.

At a May meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Blinken asked that Russia release Reed and Paul Whelan, another US Marine veteran, who was accused of spying and sentenced last year to 16 years in prison.

"The secretary reiterated President Biden's resolve to protect American citizens and act firmly in defense of US interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies," the State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. "This includes the release of Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed so that they are able to return home to their families in the US."

Intelligence sources told Insider last year that Russia could be trying to use Whelan's detention to lure then-President Donald Trump into a prisoner swap.

Biden is also expected to press Putin over a spate of ransomware attacks on major US companies conducted by hackers with suspected links to Russia.