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GENEVA President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin both came out of more than three hours of face-to-face talks saying their first meeting was a success, although they made little tangible progress in improving immediately strained relations between Washington and Moscow.
Noting the hype around the summit, Biden said his goal was simple to be frank with Putin about the Kremlins’ human rights trampling, military adventurism in Ukraine and attacks on democracy, including interference in US elections.
I want President Putin to understand why I say what I say and why I do what I do and how I will respond to certain actions that harm American interests, said Biden, who said the summit was about making the rules driving.
While he drew red lines with Putin, he was vague in describing them in a 33-minute press conference with American reporters following the talks.
Biden said the prospect of a US military response to Russia’s actions had never been discussed. But he also suggested that the cyber capabilities of the Americas exceeded that of Moscow, hinting that the United States could respond in kind to continued cyber attacks from Russia.
And he said the consequences … would be devastating for Russia if Putin’s imprisoned enemy and opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived poisoning with a Russian nerve agent last year, were to die between the hands of the state.
Biden acknowledged that Wednesday’s events were not a kumbaya moment, but asserted that Putin was also interested in avoiding another Cold War as he saw China at its borders, increasingly asserting its economic might and military.
I think there is a real prospect of genuinely improving relations between Russia and the United States without abandoning core values, Biden said at his press conference, which began after the Russian leader left. interviewed reporters for about an hour.
Biden has repeatedly suggested that the potential success of this meeting on a scenic hill overlooking Lake Geneva would not be measurable for six months, lashing out at a reporter who asked him why he was convinced Putin would change his behavior.
I’m not sure I’m going to change his behavior, Biden said, his voice rising. What the hell? (Biden apologized for being a good guy to reporter Kaitlan Collins of CNN after riding his motorcade to the airport for the return trip).
The two leaders noted the absence of external hostility at the negotiating table. Biden, who said he watched most of Putin’s remarks, called the talks familiar. Putin said there was no hostility; quite the contrary.
We do not share the same positions in many areas, but I think the two sides have shown a willingness to understand each other and find ways to bring our positions closer together, Putin said.
But Putin deflecting the answers suggested that Bidens’ diplomacy was unlikely to spur the autocrat, who has held power in Moscow for 22 years, to take shape.
He rejected the blame for the military build-up on the Ukrainian border and the imprisonment and death of opponents, and he spoke of mass shootings in the United States and accused the United States of human rights violations. man.
Seeking to absolve himself of imprisoning his main political rival, Putin compared Navalnys’ protest movement seeking democratic reforms to the insurgents who sought to overthrow the US presidential election by storming the Capitol on January 6.
When asked about this analogy, Biden called it a ridiculous comparison.
Putin has also attempted to explain his crackdown on dissent and emotionally responded to a question about the death and imprisonment of his opponents by referring to the largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protests.
What we saw was chaos, disruption, violations of the law, he said. We feel sympathy for the United States of America, but we do not want this to happen in our territory and are doing everything we can to ensure that it does not happen, he said.
On the cyberattack accusations, Putin said of the United States: all they do is imply. He said he thought the United States was not really interested in getting to the bottom of this matter.
Biden said he told his Russian counterpart that critical infrastructure should be closed to any attack, cyber or otherwise, and he provided him with a list of 16 sites that Russia must never attack.
Biden also said he spoke about the crackdown inside Moscow on several foreign media.
Above the summit were questions about at least two American citizens imprisoned in Russia. Their families and other supporters had hoped Biden could secure their release, perhaps as a gesture of goodwill from Putin.
When a reporter shouted a question asking why there was no apparent progress on the matter, Biden appeared to bristle and stopped dead as he left his post-summit press conference. I won’t be leaving, Biden said.
Putin was also asked earlier about American and Russian prisoners in the prisons of the two countries and whether there could be a release or an exchange. We discussed it; maybe we could find some kind of compromise there, Putin said.
But American diplomats reject a prisoner swap because they say Russians imprisoned in the United States have been convicted of serious crimes while detained Americans are held as potential political pawns.
Both are former US Marines: Paul Whelan, from Michigan, and Trevor Reed, from Texas. Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2020 following what Russian authorities have described as a drunken encounter with police. Whelan, 51, has been jailed since 2018 on more serious espionage charges and has repeatedly claimed his innocence.
On a point of agreement, Biden said he and Putin agreed on efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The United States is engaged in negotiations in Vienna to return to the Iran nuclear deal, of which Russia is one of six co-signatories. In addition, the two sides agreed to start an inter-agency dialogue aimed at improving their relations and returning their ambassadors to their respective capitals soon.
Putin, during his press conference, hailed Bidens’ moral values as attractive.
It is clear to me that we speak the same language. It certainly doesn’t mean we have to look each other in the eye and find a soul, he said, alluding to a 2011 reunion with Biden, then vice president. Biden said he looked into Putin’s eyes and told him, I don’t think you have a soul.
Putin compared Biden to his predecessor, who often praised or refuted the former KGB agent.
President Biden is a seasoned statesman, Putin told reporters. He is very different from President Trump.
Biden and Putin opened the Geneva meeting with gestures of respect. Putin, known for his late arrivals meant to keep rivals waiting, parked in the driveway at the summit site first and earlier than expected.
Biden, whose armored limousine pulled up 15 minutes later outside the front door of the quaint 18th-century villa, stood beside Putin when Swiss President Guy Parmelin greeted them. Biden was the first to reach out to shake Putin’s hand, later motioning for the Russian leader to enter the villa in front of him.
Inside, Biden thanked Putin ahead of the talks. Like I said outside, it’s always better to meet face to face. And, in an aside that seemed to elevate Russia’s positioning on the world stage, Biden called the United States and Russia two great powers.
When a barely three American journalist walked into the room amid a physical melee with Russian journalists outside, asked Biden if he trusted Putin, he appeared to nod his head. But White House communications director Kate Bedingfield quickly tweeted to make it clear that the president wasn’t answering any questions very clearly, but was nodding in thanks to the press in general.
Interpreters were seated just behind the two leaders. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sat to Putin’s left. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken was seated to the right of Bidens.
The first session started at 1:45 am and ended an hour and a half later. More helpers joined an expanded meeting later. The summit ended shortly after 5 p.m.
Biden had dismissed questions of whether he would meet Putin whom he too soon called a worthy adversary in his presidency, noting that NATO allies who spoke to him consistently expressed their support.
To some extent, Bidens’ eagerness for the meeting reflected a desire to deal early on with Russian-related issues in a way that, if successful, would allow him to refocus his foreign policy on Indo-. Pacific and efforts to counter China. .
For Putin, the summit offered a major advantage, as the possibility of improving relations with the United States could signal that Democratic leaders are ready to overcome tensions resulting from his forays into Ukraine and his interference in the American elections. .
Privately, however, US officials had admitted that they had not planned any major breakthroughs.
Stokols reported from Geneva and Wilkinson from Washington.
Copyright 2021 Tribune Content Agency.
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