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On March 10, 2011, then-US Vice President J. Biden and then-Russian Prime Minister V. Putin met in Moscow.
“I would describe the meeting as warm,” Michael McFaul, the then American architect of “recharging” relations with Russia, who later became ambassador to Russia, told Radio Free Europe.
“It wasn’t a confrontation, but we spent a lot of time talking about things we don’t agree on, especially Sakartwell and missile defense,” McFaul said.
J. Biden and V. Putin also had a closed-door meeting for two – M. McFaul did not participate in it. Biden then revealed what he had told Putin.
“I told him: Mr. Prime Minister, I look him in the eye and I don’t think he has a soul. He looked at me, smiled and said, “We understand each other,” Biden told The New Yorker a few years later.
According to McFaul, Biden is a “social guy” who likes to be held by the arm or elbow and has a good sense of humor.
“I don’t remember Putin. He was wearing a game mask, he was following the plan,” he said.
VIDEO: Biden called Putin a murderer: how will US-Russian relations change?
“There will be no progress”
Putin and Biden will now meet as presidents, and relations between Moscow and Washington have experienced the greatest strains since the Cold War: the countries don’t even have ambassadors in each other’s capitals.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov said he hoped the meeting would “at least stabilize relations with the United States.”
“There are difficulties everywhere, nothing is easy,” he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he “would have no illusions” about the progress: “We are not trying to give the impression that there will be a breakthrough or historic decisions.”
Putin, who called the murderer, reacted: “He who says for the other speaks for himself”
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On June 9, Biden told US troops that he had a clear message for Putin.
“We are not looking for a conflict with Russia. We want a stable and predictable relationship. But I was clear: the United States will respond forcefully and meaningfully if the Russian government takes harmful measures,” Biden said before his trip to Europe.
Criticisms of Nord Stream 2
After Biden became president, the White House imposed new sanctions on Moscow in response to cyberattacks against US government agencies and poisoning by Russian opponent Alexei Navaln.
The White House seeks to improve relations with Ukraine, whose forces in Donbass are fighting Russian-backed separatists.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kiev last month and Biden invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet. However, he turned down Zelensky’s request for a face-to-face meeting before Biden met with Putin.
“Scanpix” / ITAR-TASS nuotr./Volodymyras Zelenskis
Biden was criticized for some of the decisions deemed beneficial to Russia.
His administration did not impose sanctions that could prevent the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Such a decision has been criticized by some Republican congressmen and European allies.
As soon as Biden assumed the presidency, the United States extended the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (English New START agreement) with Russia, the only major arms control agreement between Moscow and Washington.
According to some Republican congressmen, this does not make sense as there are constant doubts about Russia’s compliance with other agreements. And the expansion of New START is said to limit America’s efforts to modernize its arsenal.
The White House also expressed low expectations for the meeting in Geneva.
“I don’t think this is a meeting that solves all the problems or all the challenges in our relationship,” said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Modest results
According to McFaul, the results of the meeting are likely to be modest: it can be agreed to further discuss the arms control agreements, return ambassadors to Moscow and Washington.
It is also possible to agree on a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution authorizing humanitarian aid to Syria. Here, the United States and Russia support different sides of the conflict. The meeting may agree steps to renew the Iran nuclear deal.
“Scanpix” / AP nuotr./Michaelas McFaulas
According to Russian political scientist Ivan Kurilla, the most important thing for Putin is to be seen on the world stage alongside the president of the United States.
“Putin certainly wants to once again be an equal partner in the dialogue with the US president,” Kurilla told Radio Free Europe.
According to Kurilla, Putin will reject any discussion about the occupied Crimean peninsula or Belarus.
“And of course Putin does not want to be taught human rights,” the political scientist said.
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