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The first source said that the general theme of Sullivan’s briefing was that Putin “hasn’t really changed lines,” despite efforts by the current administration and its predecessors to curb Putin’s malign behavior with sticks, such as sanctions, and shape Russia’s actions in other situations. Areas that use diplomacy, including through personal engagements.
Sullivan’s warnings are emblematic of concerns expressed by officials and lawmakers ahead of the summit, which is scheduled for next week after Biden’s meeting with NATO and European allies in the United Kingdom and Belgium. And within the Biden administration, there has been intense debate about the proper way to deal with Putin, according to several people familiar with the matter, particularly within the State Department.
State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to comment on “what was said during a confidential hearing,” but described Sullivan’s testimony descriptions as “far from the norm.”
“The ambassador has been deeply involved in the preparations for the next president’s meeting with President Putin,” Price said. “As we engage Russia in ways that advance American interests, we continue to monitor the challenges posed by Russia and will work to hold Russia accountable for its reckless and hostile actions.”
Price added that Sullivan will return to Moscow in the coming weeks and that the administration remains “committed to opening channels of communication with the Russian government to advance US interests and reduce the risk of miscalculation between our two countries.”
A White House spokesperson also said in a statement that “President Biden and Ambassador Sullivan – in fact, our entire national security team – are fully consistent with our approach to Russia and the upcoming summit with President Putin.”
Sullivan, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump but asked by Biden to remain in office, had been advising the president’s national security team ahead of the summit and had attended all White House meetings on Russia leading up to the meeting. . National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that the stormy European trip was deliberately planned so that Biden would meet key partners first and go to Putin’s summit “with the wind in his back.” The administration used a similar playbook ahead of the US-China meeting in Alaska earlier this year — Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Indo-Pacific partners beforehand to reaffirm US support for democratic allies in the region.
Biden has told aides he believes Putin is responding to signs of strength, something he feels best conveyed in person rather than over the phone, according to people familiar with the conversation. He had two phone calls with the Russian president that officials described as direct — but without the kind of personal interaction and body language derived from a personal meeting.
Looming over the Geneva talks are the summits that Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, has had with Putin, which were met with heavy criticism after Trump appeared to take sides with the Russian president over interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump and Putin also met alone on multiple occasions, without aides present. Or American interpreters. Sullivan said Monday that the White House is still determining what the Biden-Putin meeting will look like and whether to hold a joint press conference afterward.
“More backbone”
Ambassador Sullivan’s briefing last month appears to have made an impression on senators. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia told CNN after the session – which he declined to comment directly on – that he saw no improvement at the Geneva summit.
“Vladimir Putin is in the midst of an attempt to assassinate and then silence a political opponent, and is attacking a political opponent with a chemical weapon banned in a foreign country,” Kane said, referring to Russia’s attack on Navalny with the deadly poison Novichok. “Do you think you can negotiate with a man like that?”
Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, was similarly cautious when exiting the briefing.
“I think we need to have more backbone and make it very clear that what Russia is doing is unacceptable to us, and there will be serious consequences for their malign actions,” Romney told CNN.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN that Biden made a “huge gift to Putin” ahead of the summit by not penalizing the companies behind the controversial Russia-Germany gas pipeline that critics say he will. that. Increasing the geopolitical influence of Russia on Europe.
Regardless of Kane, many Senate Democrats said they were confident Biden would do well with Putin, citing his first-hand experience with the Russian leader and his long record in foreign policy.
“I’m not at all worried that he’s going to be cheated or entrapped,” said Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii. “This is one of those instances where you’re happy that you have someone who has served on the Foreign Relations Committee and the vice chair and various capacities in foreign policy for so long. That’s going to be a tough one for starters.”
“He knows how to handle issues, but he’s also very firm about our mission and our values,” said Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat. “I have every confidence that he will handle it properly,” Cardin said.
Not interested in reset
Thus, Biden, known for his blunt talks with foreign leaders, will walk a tightrope between vigorously condemning Putin’s regional aggression, election interference efforts and hacking campaigns, and working to facilitate a more “stable and predictable” US relationship with Russia.
“What seemed like a good idea a month ago, I bet it causes a lot of regret now,” Jim Townsend, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO policy, said, referring to the summit.
Townsend noted a recent incident in which the Russian-backed leader of Belarus was forced to shoot down a plane to arrest a dissident journalist.
“It showed that the problems with Russia are really serious,” Townsend said. “Biden is going to have to really dig in because a lot of people are watching. There are more rewards now for him to come out looking tough.”
The administration has stressed in recent days that it does not intend to “reset” relations with Russia, which implies its willingness to tolerate Moscow’s past aggression. But he also wants to facilitate an early dialogue with the Kremlin to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings — something Biden finds easier to do directly, a White House official told CNN.
Sullivan, the national security adviser, told reporters on Monday that Putin also had a “very personal style of decision-making.” “So, it is important that President Biden sit down with him face to face.”
But Sullivan acknowledged that the meeting was unlikely to produce immediate results.
“We don’t think of the US-Russia summits in terms of achievements,” he said. “We think of it as an opportunity to express our intentions and capabilities.”
Yet Putin is one of the few world leaders who, for better or worse, does not have a strong personal relationship with Biden.
“It was a fairly valid relationship, albeit not cordial,” said a former US official who worked closely with Biden on foreign policy issues. “I wouldn’t say there’s anything beyond that. Based on what I’ve seen from their interactions, he’s just a professional politician talking to another. Not cold and hostile, but also not warm and friendly. He’s just honest.”
This dynamic was demonstrated the last time they met in 2011, when Biden was vice president and the Obama administration was working to reset the relationship between the United States and Russia. When Putin suddenly suggested during a joint press conference that countries offer a “visa-free exchange system,” Biden called it a “good idea.” He recanted his position when he realized that this was not his calling, but he managed to turn the embarrassing moment into a mild, but pointing, criticism of the Russian political system.
“Mr. Prime Minister, in case you haven’t noticed, there is a real difference between being president and vice president,” he told Putin, who was serving as prime minister at the time because he was constitutionally barred from serving for a third consecutive term. as chief. “The good news is the president and I agree 100% on the need to continue to have a closer and closer relationship.”
By 2014, the reset had all but failed with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the invasion of eastern Ukraine. Relations between Washington and the Kremlin deteriorated further when Russia interfered in the 2016 elections and escalated after Russia’s use of banned chemical nerve agents against supposed traitors on European soil while continuing ongoing disinformation campaigns targeting American voters.
The administration earlier this year blamed Russia for a massive cyber-espionage campaign known as SolarWinds that affected dozens of federal agencies and private companies across the country.
“We are not interested in resetting the situation and we do not want an escalation with Russia,” Eric Green, senior director of the National Security Council for Russia, said during an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security on Friday. Green said the White House believes “this is a much different Russia” than it was in 2009, which is generally difficult to deal with.
But he said the administration also recognizes that some important things haven’t changed in the past decade, specifically the fact that Russia still has one of the world’s largest nuclear arsenals. The country also remains a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Green said, “which means, whether we like it or not, we have to work with them on some of the fundamental challenges out there in the world.” “But we have no illusions about what is happening inside Russia and we don’t see many opportunities for real constructive engagement in many areas.”
A soulless ‘murderer’
Essentially, Biden believes that Putin, like most world leaders, is a “rational player” who will ultimately always act in his own interest, said two former officials who have worked closely with Biden on these issues.
One of the former officials said the president also understands that Putin’s values are unlikely to align with traditional Western values, and that Biden is proud of his record of not mincing words with the Russian leader. Over the years, Biden repeatedly told aides a story when he first met Putin and told him directly that, contrary to what George W. Bush apparently expected at their first meeting a decade ago, Biden didn’t think Putin had a soul at all.
Biden told the New Yorker that Putin seemed pleased with the assessment. Biden said Putin told him, “We understand each other.”
Biden gave a blunt answer earlier this year when asked by ABC if he thought Putin was a “murderer.”
He replied, “Yes.”
The note caused an uproar in Russia, which responded by recalling its ambassador to the United States and warning of an “irreversible deterioration of relations.”
Meanwhile, Ambassador Sullivan has not returned to Moscow after being asked by the Kremlin to leave – a sign that relations are still at an all-time low. The administration emphasized, however, that Biden is meeting with Putin because of their differences, not despite them.
“At the end of the day, what we are looking to do is for the two presidents to be able to send a clear signal … to their teams on matters of strategic stability so that we can make progress on arms control and other nuclear areas to reduce tension,” the National Security Adviser told reporters on Monday. and instability in this aspect of their relationship.”
And second, the ability to look President Putin in the eye and say: This is what America expects. This is what America stands for. This is what America is all about.
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