US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin opened their long-awaited Geneva summit on Wednesday with a handshake, aimed at lowering tensions between the two countries and finding some points of agreement.
The two leaders arrived within minutes of each other at Villa La Grange, a magnificent 18th century building located in the heart of the Swiss city, and were received by Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who wished them luck in this meeting that is expected to be difficult. .
The first to speak was Putin, who stressed that “many issues have accumulated in Russian-American relations.” “I hope our meeting is productive,” said the Russian leader, at the start of the meeting at Villa La Grange.
“Mr. President, I would like to thank you for your initiative to hold this meeting,” Putin added, sitting in one of the mansion’s libraries with Biden and the foreign ministers, Russian Sergey Lavrov and American Antony Blinken.
Biden, who held out his hand to Putin, said “thank you” after his Russian counterpart pointed out that he expected a productive meeting and noted: “As I have always said outside, it is better to meet face to face.”
The US president added that during this day they will try to determine where their mutual interests lie and where their disagreements lie. “We can do everything to discuss matters in a professional and predictable manner,” he said.
The meeting first foresees a meeting in a reduced format that includes Biden, Putin and the heads of American and Russian diplomacy. Then there will be a larger work session.
Both leaders spoke in front of journalists at the beginning of the summit, before the reporters were taken from the room. Asked if he trusts Putin, Biden shook his head up and down affirmatively.
A reporter questioned the Russian president about whether he feared jailed opponent Alexei Navalni and what he would do if Ukraine joined NATO, to which Putin looked up and did not reply.
Putin arrived in Geneva on Wednesday at noon, half an hour before the start of the meeting, and Biden did so on Tuesday, from Brussels, where he participated in both NATO summits and with his allies in the European Union.
Biden’s bargaining power is at stake
Since coming to power, the 46th president of the United States has adopted a firm tone regarding Putin, to make clear the differences with his erratic predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden also promised that he will highlight to his counterpart which are “the red lines” that he should not cross.
“I am not seeking a conflict with Russia, but we will respond if Russia continues its harmful activities,” the US president said before the summit.
Although the White House insisted that no spectacular progress should be expected, the 78-year-old president knows that in Geneva he has the opportunity to polish his image as an excellent negotiator.
In recent days, observers recalled the famous summit in Geneva between Presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, which marked the beginning of the thaw of the Cold War.
“I am always ready,” declared Biden when he arrived in Geneva and was questioned about his state of mind before this meeting that concentrates the world’s attention.
But the Russian president also has long experience with summits. Since coming to power in late 1999, he has already rubbed shoulders with four US presidents.
Many experts agree that Putin has already achieved what he most wanted: holding the summit as a sign of Russia’s importance on the world stage.
In an interview with NBC, Putin said he expected the Democratic president to be less impulsive than his Republican predecessor. But he took advantage of the occasion to describe Donald Trump as a “talented” man.
Navalni: the thorniest issue of the summit
The only point of agreement between the White House and the Kremlin is that relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in decades. The topics of conversation are numerous and the discussions promise to be harsh and difficult, particularly on Ukraine and Belarus.
One of the most sensitive topics is online misinformation and cyber attacks.
Beyond the attempted interference in the 2016 elections for the benefit of Donald Trump, the massive massive cyberattacks recently registered against companies such as SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline and JBS and attributed to Moscow or hacker groups, based in Russia, have annoyed Washington.
The city is under tight security, but a small group of protesters wanted to show their support for Alexei Navalni, a Russian opposition leader who is in prison after living through a poisoning that he attributes to the Kremlin. Many chanted “a Russia without Putin.”
On Tuesday, from Brussels, Joe Biden issued a clear warning about the Russian activist. Navalni’s death “would be a tragedy,” Biden said. “That would deteriorate relations with the rest of the world and also with me,” he warned.
The president of Switzerland, Guy Parmelin, for his part, was hopeful about this meeting.
“The world has been 18 months into a pandemic that hit terribly. The Geneva meeting represents an opportunity for the presidents of the United States and Russia to instill a little more optimism, a little more hope in world politics,” he said.
With information from AFP and EFE
