Joe Biden and Vladimir Poutin to meet on June 16 in Geneva

The president of the United States, Joe biden, and the President of Russia, Vladimir Poutine, will meet on June 16 in the Swiss city of Geneva, according to White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a statement.

“The leaders discuss the full range of urgent issues, while we are looking restore predictability and stability in the relationship between the United States and Russia, ”the statement read.

The summit was negotiated by delegations and last week US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov met in the first meeting between the two diplomats since Joe Biden’s arrival. at the White House in January.

In this context, the United States has said it is waiving the initial sanctions established for the company Nord Stream 2 AG, a measure hailed by Russia as a relief of tensions. However, complications arise on several fronts of the relationship, marked by accusations of espionage and cyber attacks.

Determined to break with what many saw as a deferential relationship between Trump and Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, at the start of his administration, called the Russian leader a “murderer.” In addition, Washington and Moscow have sanctioned each other, in a tit-for-tat dynamic.

But the White House insists its foreign policy is very pragmatic and is open to finding points of contact even with their worst enemies when it comes to matters of American interest, like climate change or disarmament.

The summit will take place at the end of what will be Biden’s first overseas trip as president: a European tour that will include a stopover in the UK for a Group of Seven summit and one in Brussels to visit NATO headquarters.

The Biden administration called for the summit last month after Russia concentrated its forces on its border with Ukraine and was accused of participating in the SolarWinds hack, offering money in exchange for the murder of soldiers Americans in Afghanistan, and attempting to kill and then imprison opposition leader Alexei Navalny. .

However, political scientist Alexei Makarkin believes that neither side is interested in a new cold war. “Russia is not. The economy is not giving for it. The Russian government has immediate plans to stimulate the economy. The USSR lost the Cold War and everything turned out badly for it. They have that in mind, ”he said. Efe. As for the United States, he believes that on the other side of the ocean, they are aware that, apart from accusations of democratic involution, “we cannot change Russia in the short term”.

“In the White House, they believe that, in any case, it is necessary to reach an agreement with Russia,” he said. According to him, the “spirit of revenge” is losing its full force among the Russians, who since the retirement age was raised in 2018 prefer that the government focus on social issues and not practice an active foreign policy.

(With information from the AP, EFE and AFP)

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