DUBAI: US President Joe Biden appeared to confuse Syria with Libya while speaking at a G7 press conference where he was discussing ways of working with Russia.

The US president was discussing how he might work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide aid to countries torn apart by civil war. 

He then briefly mixed up the two nations, which resulted in several confused glances at the press. 

“And so, there’s a lot going on where we can work together with Russia. For example, in Libya, we should be opening up the passes to be able to go through and provide — provide food assistance and economic — I mean, vital assistance to a population that’s in real trouble.”

“And, for example, the rebuilding of — of Syria, of Libya, of — you know, this is — they’re there. And as long as they’re there without the ability to bring about some order in the — in the region, and you can’t do that very well without providing for the basic economic needs of people,” he further said.

White House officials later clarified the confusion and confirmed that the US President was referring to Syria in his speech.