American media argued over Biden’s optimism and pessimism about Russia
“Biden refused a joint press conference with Putin to avoid a PR disaster. But the winner of the day was still the ruler of Moscow,” the Western media say, commenting on the outcome of the summit between the US and Russian presidents in Geneva. At the same time the assessments of specific results of the meeting in the world’s press were diametrically opposed.
“The summit gave Putin an opportunity to pause the deterioration of relations between Moscow and Washington, as the US will now be reluctant to impose new economic sanctions. In short, Putin went to Geneva and got exactly what he wanted. He left Switzerland with a huge diplomatic victory just by showing up at the summit”, – CNN points out. – “Putin is trolling America by defending his position on Navalny with the arrests of the Capitol storm troopers and Black Lives Matter”, – Fox News adds in turn.
At the same time, Time magazine believes that “the summit gave Putin the global stage he had been waiting for, given his long-standing desire for Russia to be taken seriously as the United States’ chief rival.” “The summit was organised to equalise the two leaders and highlight the global power they wield.” “Russia is in a very, very difficult position. They are being pinned down by China. They desperately want to remain a major power. They desperately want to be relevant,” Time quoted Biden as confirming his position.
“Biden’s strategy of pessimism is helping progress with Putin,” adds The Washington Post. The newspaper recalled that “in his four-decade-long political career, Biden has seen presidents on both sides try to change US relations with Russia but leave office disappointed.”
“Therefore, Biden will not push for a reset in relations”, – given his pessimism about Putin. – “As expectations of the summit were low, the presidents came away from the meeting with a pleasant surprise in the form of progress on a number of issues”, – the publication points out, listing those very surprises: the return of ambassadors, resumption of strategic stability talks, consultations on cybersecurity and economic issues.
“The modest technical achievements contrast with the more grandiose ambitions of previous presidents who sought to fundamentally change Russia-U.S. relations. But analysts see the resolution of the above issues as progress for both countries”, – the publication said.
In contrast, The New York Times, instead of pessimism, sees Biden’s “stubborn optimism,” “which critics say borders on alarming naivety,” “but which allies say is an important ingredient for progress in relations with Russia.
“If one listens to Biden, one can easily conclude that the meeting with Putin was a resounding success. Such unbridled positivity has already led to accusations of his naivety and unwillingness to see reality. Questions arise as to whether Biden is prepared to confront Russian aggression on NATO’s eastern border, devastating cyber-attacks and the deterioration of human rights in the country. But Biden’s approach is unlikely to change. He’s an old-school diplomat and believes in the benefits of having face-to-face conversations,” the NYT concludes.
“But Russia is not the existential rival that the Soviet Union was during the Cold War. Yet its ambitions in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and cyberspace continue to clash with US interests. These threats need to be answered firmly. The fruit of the summit will be how successfully Biden delivers that message to the man sitting across the table from him”, – according to the Wall Street Journal.
The National Interest, on the other hand, is convinced that both Putin and Biden won the summit. And the White House chief’s efforts “are clearly aimed at melting the ice in U.S.-Russian relations by focusing on the confrontation with China.
“The question is whether the Geneva summit will turn out to be a one-off event or a dress rehearsal for signing larger agreements with Russia in the coming years. For the moment, the Geneva summit was a good start, and Biden is in a favorable situation in which everything is conducive to success”, – concludes NI.
Biden’s behaviour at the summit is assessed differently by The Hill. “The 46th president looked weak. Then, at the end of his press conference, he became defensive and angry, discussing the way he had handled issues with Putin (who had taken almost twice as long to hold his press conference, giving the impression of another easy victory for the Russian leader). And all this in front of the whole world,” they say. The New York Post holds a similar view: “Biden declined to hold a joint news conference with Putin to avoid a PR disaster. But the winner of the day was the ruler of Moscow.
“Let’s face it: it was not a good day for either Biden or America. Putin essentially mocked his counterpart and the United States, while Biden looked weak and distracted. Perhaps America would have looked stronger if there had been no summit at all”, – the New York Post reasoned.
The European media, on the other hand, drew attention to other details of the meeting in Geneva. “When Vladimir Putin approaches journalists after the summit, he shows at least three faces. Sometimes he is kind, sometimes cunning, sometimes cruel,” Die Welt points out.
“The aviator glasses that Biden gave to Putin are indicative of the ambiguity of Russian-American relations. Firstly, eyewear manufacturer Randolph produces the HGU-4 / P model for US military fighter pilots. These glasses, made in Massachusetts, are worn by US and NATO pilots. Secondly, aviator glasses are Joe Biden’s trademark, just as the red cap was Trump’s symbol. That’s why Biden gave Putin the NATO Biden glasses. This is called a gesture of power. Or simply: insolence”, – Die Welt reports.
In France, on the other hand, they draw parallels with the summit of the leaders of the USSR and the US 36 years ago.
“Today we reaffirm the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought”, – says a brief joint statement on the bilateral dialogue on strategic stability officially initiated by the two countries. The quote almost completely echoes a similar text issued by Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan in 1985″, – recalls Le Monde.
“The US president expects a change in Moscow’s behaviour, while his Russian counterpart wants America to mind its own business. But how to move forward with such a dialogue? The simplified answer is to separate internal and external affairs. Ironically, although it (Russia) continues to accuse America of meddling, it is Russia that has gone on the offensive on the Western front, using all the hybrid options and levers at Putin’s disposal”, – Le Figaro notes.
“For the Russian president, the summit is important also for the development of domestic politics. Putin reappears as a player on the global geopolitical stage after more than a modest year with very few personal meetings and no trips outside Russia” , – the Spanish newspaper El País wrote.
“According to analysts, although the summit is inconclusive, the very fact of the talks is already scoring points for Putin. This is important because the Russian leader’s popularity is declining and the number of coronavirus infections in the country is rising, although vaccination has been available to the population since January. At the same time, social discontent because of the weakening economy is also growing”, – the authors of El País reasoned. – “All this is prompting the Kremlin-backed United Russia party to arrive at the September parliamentary elections with low ratings”.
Meanwhile, the German media believe that both presidents have increased their ratings following the summit.
“Therefore, they will have less need to signal their strength with costly attacks and provocations for the foreseeable future. After the Geneva summit, at least the risk of an escalation of the crisis between Russia and the US has not increased”, – the Neue Zürcher Zeitung is convinced.
“Sometimes you have to settle for little, especially given the cold atmosphere between the US and Russia. Simply put: Extremely low expectations have been met. Only one benefited – Putin, who left Russia for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic to travel from Sochi to Geneva. Here he stays true to himself, listens calmly to Biden’s speech and then responds just as calmly. In other words: everything works exactly the way he wants it to”, – concludes Der Spiegel of Germany.
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