Slated to attend the highly anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to tamp down trade tensions with European allies as he spends his one last day in Brussels consulting the U.S.’ steadfast allies ahead of the meeting with Vladimir Putin. At the same time, Biden today warned of a worse relationship between Russia and the rest of the world, should Alexei Navalny, the opposition figure, die while languishing in jail.
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Having his hands full attending meetings on his eight-day foreign trip, U.S. President Joe Biden met with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The U.S. President has sought to marshal widespread support from his steadfast European allies, in an effort to counter threats by Russia, ahead of his meeting tomorrow with Putin in Geneva.
Biden was candid with people around the world today as he admitted the U.S.-EU relationship is not without some tensions. It stands to reason why he will meet with top European Union officials on his last day in Brussels to finally take action on the tariffs imposed by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Meantime, ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden sent this message:
If he chooses not to cooperate and acts in a way that he has in the past, relative to cybersecurity and some other activities, then we will respond.
Since taking office in January, Biden has repeatedly pressured Putin to take bold steps to thwart Russian-originated cyberattacks on U.S. companies and the government. Hoping to set the record straight, Biden said people are given leeway as to how they can utilise the Internet to do whatever they want, except for launching cyberattacks.
Then, the President denounced the imprisonment of Russian dissident lawyer Alexei Navalny. He said it was a crackdown on anti-Kremlin figures and freedom of expression. Asked if the U.S. will respond, should Navalny die in prison, Biden made it crystal clear it will only hurt Russia’s relationship with the world.
Biden:
It would be a tragedy. It would do nothing but hurt his relationships with the rest of the world, in my view, and with me.
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But despite having said he will offer cooperation to “worthy adversary” Vladimir Putin, Biden will report things which will have been discussed by tomorrow evening at a news conference alone, instead of holding a joint news conference with the Russian President.
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