Presidents of both countries Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin will hold a one-on-one meeting on Wednesday amid tensions in relations between the US and Russia. This meeting will be held in Geneva, Switzerland. Meanwhile, many questions are arising. For example, what is the significance of this meeting and what will be its results?
Ahead of the meeting with Putin, Biden described him as a “competent opponent”, although Biden did not give any predictions about the success of the meeting.
When Biden was asked what he expected to achieve from the meeting with Putin, he only said that they would discuss a range of issues, “the areas where we can cooperate will also be discussed.” He cautioned that if Russia refuses to cooperate on issues such as cyber security, “the US will respond”.
It is believed that during this meeting, Biden can also raise human rights issues, including the alleged Russian cyber attack in the US election.
Will the US-Russia summit yield any concrete results?
US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan told reporters at the White House on Monday, “We don’t look at the US-Russia summit as a result because if you’re really expecting something important to come out of the meeting, you have to. Might have to wait a long time. So what we need to think about is that the summit is happening and giving us basically a chance that our president and his president can talk about what the aspirations and capabilities of Americans are and on their behalf, we too. To hear thoughts on this.
He said that attending this summit to discuss complex issues related to US-Russia relations is from our point of view a step in the right direction regarding dialogue with Russia.
Sullivan said it is time for the US and Russia to “reaffirm, clarify and explain what our expectations are and that the US will respond if certain harmful activities continue.”
On the other hand, Russia has also indicated that there is little chance of any concrete result from the meeting of Biden and Putin, although it has nonetheless described it as important.
Hope to find some way out on arms control issue
Biden and Putin’s meeting is expected to pave some way on arms control. Both the countries have been accusing each other regarding the arms deal. The arms control fabric has been frightening, especially in 2019 due to the withdrawal of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty – first by the US and then by Russia. The agreement governed an entire class of missiles for more than three decades.
After this, the then administration of Donald Trump also pulled out of the ‘Open Sky’ treaty. Under this treaty, both countries could operate reconnaissance aircraft over each other’s military installations.
The challenge now facing Biden and Putin is how to start negotiations on arms control priorities. At the same time, Biden is also facing political pressure over China’s growing military might and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
The issue of arms control could weigh heavily at the Biden-Putin summit amid increasing US focus on ransomware attacks, alleged Russian interference in US elections, Russia’s crackdown on Ukraine’s border and the SolarWinds hacking campaign.
Meanwhile, Russian and US officials have indicated they value strategic stability negotiations, which may not involve arms control, but will initiate lower-level discussions aimed at deciding whether to arm How to organize and prioritize the control agenda.
Sullivan recently said, “We hope that both presidents will want to send a clear message to their respective teams on strategic stability so that we can make progress on arms control and other issues related to nuclear capability to reduce tensions.”
At the same time, Biden wrote in the American newspaper ‘Washington Post’, “We want a stable and expected relationship, where we can talk with Russia on issues such as strategic stability and arms control.”
(with inputs from PTI)
