U.S. President Joe Biden touched down in Geneva today as he prepares for the high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This, as both leaders agreed that U.S.-Russia relations are at an all-time low. Meanwhile, the U.S. and the EU have reached a deal to settle the U.S.-EU dispute over aircraft subsidies involving Boeing and Airbus.
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U.S. President Joe Biden touched down in Geneva today as he is slated to attend the highly-anticipated meeting in the Swiss Capital, with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Before heading off to Geneva, Biden expressed his hope that the U.S. and Russia will be able to rebuild a constructive relationship, despite low expectations from both sides. He said the two nations being able to ultimately find “stability and predictability’ in their relationship is crucial to building a better relationship between the two countries. But, he stressed that only if Putin is cooperative will the U.S. opt to cooperate with Russia in one way or another.
Biden:
I’m going to make clear to President Putin that there are areas where we can cooperate, if he chooses.
Voiceover:
Meantime, the United States and the European Union reached a deal on the heels of the summit in Brussels to settle a U.S.-EU dispute over aircraft subsidies involving Airbus and Boeing. The progress is evidenced by their decision to set aside tariffs on 11.5 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. and EU goods, and end the subsidy battle over Boeing company and Airbus.
Suffice it to say, their move is to create a joint effort to deal with China and Russia.
Back to the Biden-Putin summit. Putin and his entourage is scheduled to arrive first at the summit site, which is a grand lakeside mansion set in Geneva’s biggest park. Biden and his team will then arrive and start the meeting right away. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will also join the meeting.
Biden is expected to pressure Putin to thwart Russian cyberattacks on the U.S. government and many American businesses. Needless to say, he will also express his concern over the imprisonment of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, and the Russian government’s crackdown on anti-government movements and freedom of expression, while also leaving no stone unturned in his search for areas to cooperate with Russia.
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