Shaking hands in front of a grand Geneva villa, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday began their first summit since Biden took office, with deep disagreements likely and expectations of solving them low. Putin and Biden exchanged a few words before going inside. They sank further in March when Biden said he thought Putin was a “killer”, prompting Russia to recall its ambassador to Washington for consultations. The United States recalled its ambassador in April. In contrast to Trump, whose 2018 summit with Putin in Helsinki included a meeting accompanied only by interpreters, Biden and Putin are not expected to have any solo dealings.

Source: The Nation June 16, 2021 11:48 UTC