The press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov noted that Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden will communicate as much as necessary. Nobody limits them in time.
Biden’s team will not reboot like under Obama, Daniel Fried, a former State Department official and Russia expert, told Politico. Also, the upcoming meeting of the leaders of Russia and the United States was commented on by the former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul
“The restoration of the diplomatic presence is good. But I believe that the bulk of the meeting should be devoted to our differences”, – said McFaul, who, as an ambassador, prepared the reset under Obama and is now part of the expert group that advised Joe Biden ahead of today’s summit.
Politico’s interlocutors from the Biden Administration say that the US president is not overly optimistic about the summit with Putin, but plans to take a tough stance towards the Russian leader – by pressing him on cyber attacks, human rights and Russian aggression in Ukraine, and perhaps even get one or two concessions from Putin – which should dampen criticism from the Republicans.
The White House does not expect any breakthroughs from the meeting and considers it the first step towards establishing a relationship based on mutual lack of trust.
Recall that the talks between Putin and Biden are to begin in Geneva at 14:00 Moscow time.