An expanded summit between US Presidents Joe Biden and Russian Vladimir Putin ended in the Swiss city of Geneva, after the mini-summit between them ended. The Russian President said that he had agreed with his American counterpart on the return of ambassadors to Washington and Moscow, and the start of a dialogue on cyber security and strategic stability.
President Putin said – in a press conference after the conclusion of the summit – that he had agreed with Biden on the return of ambassadors between the two countries, and the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister stated that the Russian ambassador would return to Washington at the end of this month. Read also What is expected from the Biden and Putin summit in Geneva? The conclusion of the G7 summit .. Agreeing to confront China and Russia, distribute Corona vaccines and address climate change NATO summit… agreement on a new defense project and on facing the challenges of China and Russia
The Russian president added that his country differed with Washington on a number of issues, and said he had agreed with Biden to start talks on cyber security and strategic stability.
In response to US accusations that Russia is behind a number of cyber-attacks on US institutions, Putin said that the largest number of cyber-attacks come from the US, criticizing Washington’s lack of cooperation in this regard.
The Russian president stated that the United States had declared Russia an enemy, and had enacted a law supporting political organizations in it.
After the summit, the Kremlin said that the Russian and US presidents adopted a joint statement on strategic stability, in which they said that “there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and it should not break out at all.”
The Geneva summit took place in circumstances in which the relations of the two countries are going through their worst phases, according to US and Russian officials. The two sides discussed several issues, foremost of which are cyber security, and various security, political and economic files, which are in dispute between Moscow and Washington.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Russian president expressed his hope that his summit with the US president would be fruitful, while Biden said that a face-to-face meeting is always the best way.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Geneva, Zaur Shug, said that the expanded summit took place in the presence of most members of the Russian and American delegations, and the Syrian and Ukrainian files are being discussed, and according to the available information, there are some consensus between the Russian and American sides regarding easing the diplomatic confrontation, allowing the return of the American ambassador to Moscow. John Sullivan, and the Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov, and to reconsider the two countries’ decision to close a number of diplomatic representations in recent years due to the deterioration of political relations between them.
Biden preparing for the summit
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Geneva, Wajd Waqfi, said that some American sources mentioned that President Biden was keen, during the preparation of the summit with Putin, to listen to officials in the administration of former President Donald Trump, who advised him to adopt frankness and not be lenient with Putin in raising the controversial files between Washington and Moscow. Specifically, the alleged Russian interference in the US presidential elections, and the cyber-attacks on US institutions, which Moscow accuses of being behind.
Al-Jazeera correspondent added that there is a blackout regarding the disclosure of the course of the Russian-American summit on the thorny issues between the two countries, and the correspondent said that the Biden administration is keen to establish a framework for relations with Russia in the future, by launching a strategic dialogue to discuss the outstanding issues between them.
Al-Jazeera correspondent stated that neither side expects to reach agreements during this summit.
Putting red lines
Earlier, Biden 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 she will respond if she suffers any harm from them.
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.
In turn, a senior official in the Biden administration said that he does not expect great results from the first summit of the two presidents.
Biden 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 she will respond if she suffers any harm from them.
Biden has adopted a firm tone in recent days toward the Kremlin strongman, to better contrast the volatility and ambiguity of his Republican predecessor Trump.
And Putin had recently said in a television interview when he was asked about the American president that Biden is a professional politician, and he is the son of the American political and diplomatic establishment, unlike former US President Donald Trump, whom Trump described as intelligent; But he is not professional in politics.
For his part, Biden said earlier when asked about his opinion of Putin that the latter is a brilliant and difficult person.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Geneva stated that the two presidents will not hold a joint press conference after the conclusion of their summit, and that each of them will hold a press conference separately.
Among the most prominent contentious issues between Russia and America are the arms treaties, the deployment of short and medium-range missiles, the military presence of America and NATO near the border with Russia, Washington’s support for the Russian opposition, in addition to the human rights file inside Russia, Moscow’s support for armed separatists in eastern Ukraine, as well as the Syrian file .