Biden to meet Putin for Geneva summit amid US-Russia tension

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By AAMER MADHANI, JONATHAN LEMIRE and JAMEY KEATEN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month in Geneva, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders that comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the first months of the Biden administration.

The White House confirmed details of the summit on Tuesday. The two leaders’ meeting, set for June 16, is being tacked on to the end of Biden’s first international trip as president next month when he visits Britain for a meeting of Group of Seven leaders and Brussels for the NATO summit.

“The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement announcing the summit.

Biden first proposed a summit in a call with Putin in April as his administration prepared to levy sanctions against Russian officials for the second time during the first three months of his presidency.



FILE - In this March 10, 2011, file photo, then Vice President Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia. President Joe Biden will hold a summit with Vladimir Putin next month in Geneva, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders that comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the first months of the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-putin-geneva-summit-c9b0543248313447b0eac28da50c6188

[Bayard]

1. Can't help remembering this pic

[chocolatpi]

2. Putin's arms are so short he can't meet

President Biden half way. I would love to be a fly on the wall for that meeting.

[ancianita]

3. Psaki...

“The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship,”

And then she doesn't summarize what the "full range" of tensions are, so AP, BBC and other media are just guessing, so I'm thinkin' out loud...

-Ending U.S. sanctions for some resolution of these might be discussed.
-The two jailed Americans in Moscow will probably be one.
-Climate change mitigation through replacing fossil fuel sales might be another, along with the possible huge methane gas explosion in the Arctic Ocean's Leptev Sea bed.
-Russia's six-month ban on Ukrainian shipping in the Azov Sea could be another.
-Navalny's not dead yet, but his case might be one.
-Russian cooperation with the U.S. over Iran's nuclear program might be another.
-An invitation for further denial of Russian bounties on our men in Afghanistan might come up.
-Russia's keeping border pressure on Eastern EU allies with weapons and troops.

Maybe at three weeks away we're just at the general announcement stage.
Maybe it's a fluid plan to see what initial kind of carrot-and-stick they engage in before getting down to agreements.
Just sayin', there's no similar list of 'issues' across news, which means we're not yet well informed.
Media would do well to take seriously that Americans want to know, so that when Biden claims real progress and agreements in contrast to Trump, media report that, and don't produce narratives that both parties can spin.