Biden-Putin Summit: Here are three major takeaways from high-stake Geneva meet

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16 met for the first time face-to-face after both got off to a contentious start in nearly six months of Biden’s leadership. The summit took place in an 18th-century villa in Geneva and both leaders offered tight smiles and a firm handshake which was followed by a chaotic photo op with media and nearly three-and-a-half hours of talks that appeared tense. While US and Russia had a range of issues on the table, Putin and Biden later emerged to spin their summit at duelling news conferences on Wednesday (local time).

Broadly, both Russia and US leaders called their maiden meet positive, their difference of opinions on other issues was evident in the news conference. For instance, Putin appeared to question the arrests in the US following the January 6 riot and cited Black Lives Matter protests for “disorder,” Biden called the comparison “ridiculous.” US President also did not claim that he got Putin to commit to changing his behaviour and the Russian counterpart denied accepting the responsibility of cyberattacks on the United States or any other matter.

Biden said in the news conference, “I must tell you, the tone of the entire meetings — I guess it was a total of four hours — was — was good, positive.  There wasn’t any — any strident action taken.”

“Where we disagreed...I disagreed, stated where it was.  Where he disagreed, he stated.  But it was not done in a hyperbolic atmosphere.  That is too much of what’s been going on,” he added.

Key takeaways from Biden-Putin Summit

US and Russia did not call ‘reset’ of relations

Neither Biden nor Putin used the word “reset” to describe the present state of US-Russia relations following the Geneva summit especially when it was evident that tensions have only risen between the two in the past several months. As per the Associated Press report, both leaders staked out clear areas of disagreement even as they pointed to smaller-scale areas where they could cooperate. Notably, the US and Russian President conveyed their mutual respect but at the same time scepticism.

Their summit was an abrupt return to a more conventional US-Russia setting after the former US presidency of Donald Trump who often seemed to reportedly elevate Putin. Reportedly, both leaders left Switzerland this time with an understanding that the same old rules apply to bilateral relations. As Biden termed it, Russia returned to its place as a “worthy adversary” instead of a colleague with longer-standing tensions still being active.

No major breakthroughs

As fairly expected by both sides, the summit did not yield any major breakthroughs in Geneva. Putin and Biden identified a handful of areas where they may be some potential for progress including the agreement to return their ambassadors to their respective posts. Biden has also raised the issue of two Americans Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, who have separately received lengthy prison sentences in Russia, later Putin said that both nations can “find some compromise there.”

A brief joint communiqué was also issued by the White House and Kremlin following the summit on June 16 that reaffirmed a 1985 commitment made in Geneva by then US President Ronald Regan and then Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” As presently, there is only one arms control agreement including Russia and the United States, the joint statement also agreed to bilateral strategic stability talks.

‘What’s off-limits’

The summit also revealed that even though both nations address differences, it is still far from the stage of the ‘new cold war.’ Biden said that he gave Putin a list of 16 “critical infrastructure” sectors including energy to water systems and leaders have agreed to direct experts “to work on specific understandings about what’s off-limits” in this new domain.” Biden said of Putin, “I think that the last thing he wants now is a Cold War.” As per AP, it implies that US President embraced a defining characteristic of that era: deterrence. 

Biden said Putin was well aware that the U.S. has “significant cyber capability.” “He doesn’t know exactly what it is, but it’s significant, and if in fact they violate these basic norms, we will respond, he knows, in a cyber way.”

IMAGE: AP