Biden Putin Meeting: IN Geneva on Wednesday, President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met.
What you need to know is as follows:
The closed-door meeting, which began at around 7:45 a.m. ET and ended at 3:21 p.m. ET, lasted 3 hours and 21 minutes, which was less than the White House had predicted.
Putin came first, followed by Biden’s convoy, which arrived at the villa a few minutes later.
Putin is currently speaking to the press. Biden will then conduct his own press conference.
As media rushed into the book-lined room where the leaders met earlier Wednesday, Biden remarked, “It’s always better to meet face to face.”
The two leaders were joined by only one top adviser each for the first 90 minutes of the meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. It was subsequently made available to a broader group of aids.
“There are a lot of difficulties in the US-Russian relationship,” Putin stated via a translator. “I’m hoping our meeting will be fruitful.”
The Russian president slouched in his chair for what turned into a long and boisterous picture opportunity, with journalists jostling for position. Biden sat up straight in his chair, a good distance away from Putin.
NPR’s Franco Ordoez, who is one of the correspondents going with Biden, described a wild scene, with the gathering of media going with the US president initially being denied admittance to the room. There was a ton of pushing and shouting, and an American official tried to drag Ordoez through the chaos and into the room, but “another non-US security agent grabbed me and pulled me back,” according to Ordoez.
A few American journalists were eventually let inside the room to observe the two leaders, but the pressing and pushing by security personnel and Russian media continued.
Biden and Putin had already shaken hands outside at the gate of Villa La Grange, staying long enough for photographers to record the occasion. It was the commencement of the first formal meeting between the two countries’ presidents in three years, during which time ties between the two countries had become more tense.
What’s on the chopping block?
Biden’s aides claim he’s not in town to make friends or develop trust with an opponent he calls “brilliant,” “tough,” and “a worthy adversary.” From recent ransom ware assaults conducted by Russian cybercriminals and air piracy in Belarus to weapons control and climate change, the United States has a lot on its plate. Concerns have been expressed concerning human rights violations, strongman methods towards opposition leaders, and the detention of two Americans.
The most recent meeting between Putin and Trump culminated with Trump’s now-famous Helsinki news conference, in which he sided with Putin against US intelligence services (a stance that Trump later tried to backtrack).
This time, there will be no replay of that spectacle, not least because Biden and Putin will not conduct a joint news conference following their meeting.
Biden declined to specify what he expects to achieve out of the meeting, what he plans to press Putin on, or what success would look like in the run-up to the summit, claiming that negotiating in the press would be pointless.
“I’m going to make it plain to President Putin that there are places where we can collaborate if he chooses,” Biden said during a news conference on Monday. “And if he refuses to cooperate and continues to act as he has in the past with regard to cyber security and other things, we will take action. We shall return the favor.”
Biden first met Putin when he was vice president, and he has openly attacked him, labelling him a “killer” at one point. In an interview with NBC before of the meeting, Putin was asked about those remarks, and he shrugged it off. He also downplayed worries about hacking, as he has in the past with prior cyber-attacks blamed on Russia.
During a mid-flight briefing on Air Force One, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “[Biden’s] view is that this is not a meeting about trust, it’s not a meeting about friendship — it’s a meeting about figuring out where we can find common ground, and also being straightforward and candid about areas where we have concern.”
To avoid breathless body language analysis, Biden informed reporters he didn’t want to have a joint news conference with Putin.
However, because there will be no joint news conference, Biden will not have to stand next to Putin with an open microphone. Putin will conduct his news conference first, in a well-orchestrated sequence of events.
Biden will then accept questions from the press. This set-up will enable the US president to define the meeting and, if required, contradict Putin’s narrative.
Republican talking points
The Republican National Committee gave an assertion denouncing
Biden for inviting Putin to the meeting as it began.
The RNC’s communications director, Danielle Alvarez, claimed in a statement that the meeting was a “win Biden has handed Russia.”
“The people of the United States need a leader that puts our interests first and holds bad actors responsible,” she added.
While there was once a long-standing tradition of not criticizing a president while on a foreign tour, that custom has progressively faded. Regardless of how the meeting unfolds, Republicans have been planning to paint Biden as weak. Presidents of the United States, dating back to George W. Bush, have all met with Putin while in office.
Democrats and even some Republicans chastised Trump throughout his presidency for meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without preconditions.
References:
Ellyatt, Holly. “Biden and Putin Are about to Have a High-Stakes Meeting: Here’s What You Need to Know.” CNBC, 16 June 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/06/15/biden-putin-meeting-what-you-need-to-know.html.
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