[ad_1]
Flags of the United States, Russia and Switzerland are pictured in the garden in front of Villa La Grange, a day before the meeting of US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland, June 15, 2021 . Peter Klaunzer / Pool via REUTERS
First meeting since Biden took office Hope for more stable relationships Low expectations for any breakthrough
GENEVA, June 16 (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin faced each other on Wednesday for their first meeting since Biden took office with likely deep disagreements and low expectations for any breakthrough.
Both said they hoped their talks at a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva could lead to more stable and predictable relations, even if they remain at odds on everything from arms control to cyber-hacking to interference. election and Ukraine.
Did not expect many of the outcomes from that meeting, a senior US official told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew to Geneva, saying the two should talk for four or five hours from around 1:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. GMT).
I’m not sure any deals will be made, said Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Relations have deteriorated for years, notably with Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea to Ukraine, its 2015 intervention in Syria and US accusations – denied by Moscow – of its interference in the 2016 elections. who brought Donald Trump to the White House.
They sank again in March when Biden said he believed Putin was a “killer,” prompting Russia to recall its ambassador to Washington for consultations. The United States recalled its ambassador in April.
The senior US official said the US is aiming for a set of “tasks” – Washington lingo for assistants to work on specific issues – “on areas where working together can advance our national interests and make the safer world “.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said whether or not the dismissal of the ambassadors would be decided by the two presidents. “Today, presidents will have to determine how to proceed with the heads of diplomatic missions,” Peskov said, quoted by Russian news agencies.
While issues can be thorny, the surroundings will be serene when the Presidents meet at Villa La Grange, an elegant mansion set in a 30-hectare (nearly 75-acre) park overlooking Lake Geneva.
CONFINEMENT
On Wednesday, the summit perimeter was strictly locked down with a heavy police presence. After their bilateral meeting, Biden and Putin will continue their discussions with larger US and Russian delegations, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as interpreters.
Arms control is an area where progress has historically been possible despite broader disagreements.
In February, Russia and the United States extended the New START Treaty for five years, which caps their deployed strategic nuclear warheads and restricts land and submarine missiles and bombers to deliver them.
The senior U.S. official said Biden will also identify areas of vital national interest where Russian misconduct will be addressed. Biden signed an executive order in April giving Washington wide latitude to impose sanctions on Moscow.
A sign of strained ties, the talks will not include any meals, and Putin and Biden are expected to hold separate press conferences rather than a joint conference.
“No breaking of the bread,” the senior US official said.
Vladimir Frolov, a former Russian diplomat, told Reuters that Putin wanted respectful ties and to be treated as members of the Soviet Politburo were in the 1960s-1980s, with “a symbolic recognition of Russia’s geopolitical parity with United States”.
“In return, they (Moscow) would be willing to cut back on some of the crazy stuff,” Frolov said, saying he meant “no poisoning, no physical violence, no arrests / kidnappings of US and Russian nationals. . No interference in domestic affairs. Political. “
Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center think tank, set the bar low for Wednesday’s talks.
“The main point to remember, in a positive sense, from the Geneva meeting would be to make sure that the United States and Russia do not come to blows physically, in order to avoid a military collision”, a- he declared.
Unlike Trump, whose 2018 Putin summit in Helsinki included a meeting accompanied only by interpreters, Biden and Putin should not have a solo relationship.
Alongside Putin in Helsinki, Trump refused to blame the Russian leader for his interference in the 2016 US election, questioning the findings of his own intelligence agencies and triggering a storm of internal criticism.
Reporting by Steve Holland and Vladimir Soldatkin; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Tom Balmforth and Andrew Osborn in Moscow; Written by Arshad Mohammed in Saint Paul, Minn .; Editing by Mary Milliken and Sonya Hepinstall
Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
[ad_2]
picture credit