Negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden have been going on in a narrow format for more than an hour, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti.
The meeting at the Villa La Grange in Geneva began at about 14:30 Moscow time.
It was planned that the summit would consist of three parts: one-hour talks in a narrow format and two rounds in extended ones. A source familiar with the preparations for the meeting told RIA Novosti that it will take about five hours.
A joint press conference is not expected, the presidents will speak to journalists separately.
This is the first meeting between Putin and Biden since the latter took office as President of the United States earlier this year.