A meeting between the Presidents of the United States and Russia, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin took place in Geneva today. The negotiations ended at about 5 pm local time and took less than 5 hours as expected earlier. A White House spokesman said the meeting took place without a scheduled break.
After the talks, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, as expected, did not hold a joint press conference.
Putin was the first to come out to the journalists. Here’s what he said:
Russia and the United States have agreed to return their ambassadors to Moscow and Washington. “Many blockages” have accumulated in relations between the countries, but the parties are determined to search for solutions. There was no hostility in the negotiations. On the Russians and Americans in prison: “Certain compromises can be found. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the US State Department will work in this direction. ” About harsh statements (in March, an ABC News journalist asked in an interview if Biden considered Putin a murderer, he replied: “Mmm, yes”): “We all know these statements, after that President Biden called me, we explained, these explanations suited me … He offered to meet. Once again, I was convinced that President Biden is a very experienced person. We talked face to face with him for almost two hours. His predecessor avoided the same question, the current president decided to answer in this way. In principle, the political leadership is responsible for everything that happens in our countries. In the United States, someone is killed every day. You won’t have time to say a word, they shoot in the chest or in the back. ” About Alexey Navalny: “I proceed from the fact that he deliberately decided to be detained. He did what he wanted. Unfortunately, the format of the press conference does not allow us to speak in detail. I don’t think I’ll say anything complicated ”. On the level of mutual understanding and trust between Russia and the United States: “Leo Tolstoy once said that there is no happiness in life, there is only lightning of it, cherish it. <...> His zarnitsy, it seems to me, flashed. ” On the predictability of Russia’s behavior for the West: “We behave absolutely adequately to the threats that arise for us. It is necessary to agree on the rules of conduct. ”
According to CNN, Biden and his aides “watched closely” Putin’s briefing. The US President is expected to hold his press conference shortly.
How was the meeting
The meeting began at about 14:30 Moscow time and lasted for about four hours. The first part was held in a narrow format (in addition to the presidents, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken took part in it), the second – in an extended one.
On his first international visit in a year and a half, President Putin was punctual – he flew in, as planned, at the start of the summit. Joe Biden arrived in Geneva the day before from Brussels and spent the night at the local hotel “Intercontinental”.
Vladimir Putin was the first to arrive at the La Grange villa, where negotiations are taking place, in a cavalcade of Aurus limousines. Behind him almost a quarter of an hour later – Biden. At the villa the presidents were met by their Swiss colleague Guy Parmelin. He first went inside the building, after which he and Putin went out onto the porch. The Swiss President wished the guests good luck, after which they went to the negotiating hall. Putin thanked Biden for “initiating today’s meeting.” “As I said outside, it’s always best to meet face to face,” Biden said.
This is the first face-to-face meeting of the presidents of Russia and the United States since the election of Joe Biden. Prior to that, Putin met with Donald Trump in Helsinki in 2018.
Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden have met before, but then they were not both presidents. This was in 2011, when Biden was Obama’s vice president and Putin was prime minister.
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