US Presidents Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will hold a summit meeting on Wednesday in Geneva, in an effort to ease differences between the two countries over nuclear weapons and cyber security.
Biden – who arrived in Geneva – pledged to define what he described as the red lines of his Russian counterpart, pointing out that his country does not seek confrontation with Russia, but will respond if it suffers any harm from it, as he put it.
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the US rhetoric about deterring Russia and making it pay for its actions will not cast a positive shadow on the summit in Geneva.
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Biden has adopted an assertive tone in recent days toward the Kremlin strongman, to better contrast the volatility and ambiguity of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
Biden promised to tell Vladimir Putin what his “red lines” are, and said at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Brussels, “We do not seek conflict with Russia, but we will respond if Russia continues its activities.”
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The Swiss city hosted the first face-to-face meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, the year that marked the beginning of the thaw in the Cold War.
In response to a question upon his arrival in Geneva about his feeling before the summit, during which the world will follow him closely, Biden said, “I am always ready.”
The Russian president can count on his long experience. He has witnessed the reigns of 4 other US presidents since he came to power at the end of 1999.
Experts agree that he has already achieved what he wanted most: holding the summit as proof of Russia’s importance on the world stage.
In an interview with NBC, Putin said he hoped the Democratic president would be less emotional than his Republican predecessor, but also took the opportunity to stress that Donald Trump is a “talented” man.
The two heads of state will meet at Villa Lagrange, an 18th-century building located in the heart of the city with a promenade overlooking Lake Geneva.
It is expected that the talks, which will start at 11 GMT, will last between 4 and 5 hours.
According to the program, a mini-meeting will be held between the US and Russian presidents, and Foreign Ministers Anthony Blinken and Sergey Lavrov, and then an expanded working session.