| 2021 Russia–United States Summit | |
|---|---|
 Joe Biden andVladimir Putin during the summit | |
| Host country |  Switzerland[1] |
| Date | 16 June 2021[1] |
| Cities | Geneva |
| Venues | Villa La Grange[2] |
| Participants |  Joe BidenAntony Blinken Vladimir PutinSergey Lavrov |
| Follows | 2018 summit |
| Precedes | 2025 summit |
| ||
|---|---|---|
Personal U.S. Senator from Delaware 47th Vice President of the United States Vice presidential campaigns 46th President of the United States Tenure   | ||
| ||
|---|---|---|
Legacy   | ||
The2021 Russia–United States Summit (also known asGeneva 2021 or theBiden–Putin Summit) was asummit meeting between United States presidentJoe Biden and Russian presidentVladimir Putin on 16 June 2021, inGeneva, Switzerland.
Two summits between the United States and the Soviet Union were held in Geneva during theCold War. InJuly 1955, the leaders of Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States discussed global security.[3] InNovember 1985, U.S. presidentRonald Reagan andSoviet General SecretaryMikhail Gorbachev also met there to discuss diplomatic relations and nuclear weaponry.
Prior to the summit, Biden and Putin had met once, inMoscow in March 2011, when Biden was vice president and Putin was prime minister. After an official group meeting Biden characterized in his memoir as "argumentative", he and Putin met privately, with Biden saying "Mr. Prime Minister, I'm looking into your eyes", (a reference to a 2001 meeting between Putin and President Bush, who later said "I looked the man in the eye...I was able to get a sense of his soul"). Biden continued, "I don’t think you have a soul". Putin replied, "We understand each other".[4]
As vice president, Biden had urged then Ukrainian presidentPetro Poroshenko to eliminate middlemen such as Ukrainian oligarchDmytro Firtash from the country's natural gas industry, and to reduce the country'sreliance on imports of Russian natural gas. Putin reportedly influenced the appointment of Firtash, who had been fighting extradition to the US on bribery and organised crime charges.[5][6][7]
Two months before the summit, the Biden administration took measures to punish Russia for hostile activities such as interference in the2016 and2020 presidential elections. National security advisorJake Sullivan said the measures included "a mix of tools seen and unseen," including financial sanctions.[8]
In May 2021, the Biden administration waivedCAATSA sanctions on the company behind Russia'sNord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany and its chief executive.[9][10] Russian Deputy Foreign MinisterSergei Ryabkov welcomed the move as "a chance for a gradual transition toward the normalisation of our bilateral ties".[11]
Speaking to American military personnel in Britain en route to the summit, Biden said, "We're not seeking conflict with Russia. We want a stable predictable relationship. I've been clear: the United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way if the Russian government engages in harmful activities". He added he would "meet with Mr. Putin to let him know what I want him to know".[12]
Days before the talks, Putin again denied responsibility forcyberattacks on meat processing companies in the US. He has previously said the accusations were an attempt to provoke conflict ahead of the summit.[13][14] Russian criminal gangs were accused of theransomware attacks.[15][16]
Russia also has longstanding concerns about plans toexpand the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Meeting with NATO allies in Brussels two days before the summit, Biden refuted an assertion by Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelensky that NATO had agreed to admit Ukraine to the alliance. Ukrainian allegiance has been a persistently contentious issue between Russia and the United States.[17][18]
By the eve of the summit, Biden stood by his decision to not participate in a post-summit joint press conference with Putin, following the advice of Russian experts to avoid any attempt by Putin to appear as though he had gotten the better of Biden.[19]
The summit was held in the historicVilla la Grange, an 18th-century building overlookingLake Geneva. Swiss police and soldiers closed parklands surrounding the villa in the lead-up to the event, installing barricades and barbed wire.[2]
The summit was expected to set the direction of the relationship between Russia and the Biden administration. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two men since Biden took office in January. However, officials from both countries downplayed chances beforehand of a dramatic breakthrough in relations.[20]
Of high importance on the anticipated agenda were talks onnuclear arms control. In June 2021, Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said that "What we are looking to do is for the two presidents to be able to send a clear signal to their teams on questions ofstrategic stability so that we can make progress on arms control and other nuclear areas to reduce tension and instability in that aspect of the relationship".[21]
Biden said before the summit that he would raise the issue ofhuman rights.[22] This was expected potentially to include the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leaderAlexei Navalny.[23] Cybersecurity was also expected to be discussed, as in recent years both Russia and the United States have repeatedly violated a 25-nation pact to not attack the infrastructure of other nations in peacetime or protect cybercriminals.[24][25]
Other topics for discussion were expected to includeinterference in elections, and thesovereignty of Ukraine.[20] On the basis of past phone calls between the two men, US officials planned for the talks to be prolonged.[26]
Russia said it expected to discussCOVID-19 pandemic, global conflicts,terrorism and reducing the number ofnuclear weapons.[27][20] The two leaders agreed in January to extend for five years theNew START nuclear nonproliferation treaty.[28]
In the run-up to the summit, numerous local organizations announced demonstrations. The Geneva authorities refused to issue rally permits in several cases, which led to criticism, arguing that the refusal was a violation of fundamental rights at the political level.[29]
President of the United States,Joe Biden[30] Secretary of State,Antony Blinken[30] National Security Advisor,Jake Sullivan[30] Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs,Victoria Nuland[30] United States Ambassador to Russia,John Sullivan[30] National Security Council Top Russia Advisor, Eric Green[30] National Security Council Top Russia Advisor, Stergos Kaloudis[31]President of the Russian Federation,Vladimir Putin[32] Russian Foreign Affairs Minister,Sergey Lavrov[32] Russian Ambassador to the United States,Anatoly Antonov[32] Foreign Affairs Assistant to the President,Yuri Ushakov[32] Kremlin Press Secretary,Dmitry Peskov[32] Chief of the Russian General Staff,Valery Gerasimov[32] Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister,Sergei Ryabkov[32] Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff,Dmitry Kozak[32] Special Representative of the Russian President for the Syrian Settlement,Alexander Lavrentyev[32]The talks lasted three and a half hours in total,[33] which was less time than had been scheduled. Biden gave Putin a custom-made pair of sunglasses and crystal sculpture of a bison as gifts.[34]
The first session was a small meeting with Blinken and Lavrov also attending. The second session included more aides.[35]
An agreement was reached to begin dialogues about nuclear weapons controls and cybersecurity.[33][35] Russia and the US will also return ambassadors to each other. There were no breakthroughs on the issues of Ukraine and the imprisonment of Navalny.[34]
After the summit, Biden told reporters he "warned" Putin about the consequences of any future ransomware attacks, and that "human rights violations" were undermining Russia's "international status".[33]
At a separate press conference, Putin said the talks were constructive and without hostility but he criticized the United States for its "repression" against "peaceful protesters" in theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack and said that he does not want movements likeBlack Lives Matter to gain traction in Russia, citing their "disorderly" conduct.[33][36][37]
The day after the summit, Putin praised the outcome and complimented Biden as an astute and shrewd negotiator.[38]
.jpg)
_(3x4_cropped).jpg)
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| |
| Presidency |
|
| Premiership | |
| Electoral history | |
| Family |
|
| Public image |
|
| Related | |
| Diplomatic posts |
|
|---|---|
| Diplomacy |
|
| Incidents |
|
| Legislation |
|
| Treaties | |
| Related |
|
Part of theRusso-Ukrainian war | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
