US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed at their first summit to resume arms control talks and to return ambassadors to each other’s capitals after they were withdrawn earlier this year.
The two leaders sat down together for their first face-to-face bilateral talks last night in Geneva where the two leaders were seeking to mend US-Russia relations. The two leaders have praised their talks in Geneva that lasted four hours, less time than was scheduled.
Speaking first after the talks, the Russian President said Mr. Biden is an experienced statesman and the two spoke the same language. Mr. Putin said the meeting had been constructive without hostility and had shown the leaders’ desire to understand each other.
Speaking shortly afterward, Mr. Biden said they did not need to spend more time talking and there was now a genuine prospect to improve relations with Russia. The two sides agreed to begin a dialogue on nuclear arms control.
Both leaders said Russia and the US shared responsibility for nuclear stability and would hold talks on possible changes to their recently extended New START arms limitation treaty.
They also said they would return ambassadors to each other’s capitals. However, there was little sign of agreement on other issues, including cyber-security, Ukraine, and the fate of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
