Washington is not going to abandon plans to hold a meeting between Russian and US presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden over a new cyberattack on a major US company, for which the United States believes hackers based in Russia may be responsible.
This was confirmed by White House deputy press secretary Carine Jean-Pierre
“As you can imagine, we do not see this meeting with the Russian president as a reward. We see it as a vital part of protecting America’s interests. President Biden is meeting with Vladimir Putin because of the differences between our countries, not in spite of them”, – the White House spokeswoman said. – “We have much to resolve. President Biden speaks more effectively than anyone else about American values and priorities. And hearing directly from President Putin is the most effective way to understand Russia’s plans and intentions. There is no substitute for direct interaction between leaders, especially in a complex relationship. So it is important for President Biden to sit down [at the table] with President Putin face-to-face, in order to make it clear what our positions are, in order to understand what his positions are, in order to try to iron out the differences, and identify the areas where we can make progress.”