US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on June 16 in Geneva. In the early days of Biden’s presidency, there were minor tensions between the United States and Russia.
In this context, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders took precedence. The meeting was confirmed by the White House on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden and Putin could have a full-fledged discussion on US-Russia relations.
The summit will take place on June 16 in the Swiss city, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
“As we work to restore predictability and stability to the US-Russia relationship, the leaders will discuss a wide range of critical problems,” she said.
Putin and Biden will discuss “problems of strategic stability,” as well as “resolving regional disputes” and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.
Biden will travel to Geneva immediately following separate talks with his important Western partners in the G7, NATO, and the European Union. This will be Biden’s first international trip as president.
And, notwithstanding Biden’s statement to an interviewer that he agreed with the description of Putin as a “killer,” the Russian government has publicly designated the US to be an “unfriendly” country.
The face-to-face meeting with Putin comes at a time when tensions have been at an all-time high, with Washington’s ambitions reduced to little more than establishing a relationship in which both sides understand each other and can collaborate in specific areas.
Since entering office, Biden has launched further penalties against Moscow over what US authorities claim was the Russian part in the major Solar Winds cyber assault and persistent meddling in the 2020 presidential race.
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Washington has also criticized Moscow over the near-fatal poisoning and subsequent imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, one of Putin’s last open opponents and the meeting comes at a time when US-Russia tensions are at their highest since the Cold War.
Although, Moscow has lauded the United States’ decision to lift sanctions that had been preventing the completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, a major energy supply route connecting Russia and Europe that US officials fear will make the EU overly reliant on Russia.