US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Geneva

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US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time since Biden took office, at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland. The Russian president defined the meeting as constructive and US President said, “I did what I came to do”. Both leaders addressed in separate news conferences after the 3 hours of meetings. They also discussed cybersecurity and arms control. Both leaders also released a joint statement after their separate news conferences. President Biden said, “Putin knows I will take action in working to stop Russia from engaging in malign activities like interfering in US elections, engaging in hacking attacks, like those targeting SolarWinds, and ransomware attacks on the US companies. Putin knows there are consequences and Russian credibility shrinks when it participates in cyberattacks”.

Reporters asked about whether he was confident Putin would change his behavior? Biden affirmed that they can make progress on ensuring predictability in the strategic sphere even during periods of tension, to reduce the risk of armed conflicts and the threat of nuclear war. But, he said, “I’m not confident of anything”. President Biden said that Putin knew there would be consequences if jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny dies. However, Putin didn’t address Navalny by name at his press conference but said he (Navalny) had deliberately broken the law and wanted to be arrested when he returned to Russia after receiving treatment in Germany for his near-fatal poisoning. Russian President ditched the topic of Ukraine after NATO affirmed Ukraine’s sovereignty at its recent meeting in Brussels.

President Biden said his first foreign trip represents ‘America is Back’. He also said he owes world leaders a debt of gratitude for backing him in Putin talks. There is a value in being both realistic and putting on an optimistic face. Biden said that the Russian President knows there will be consequences if there are cyberattacks on US infrastructure. The White House official also confirmed that Biden presented a list to Putin containing 16 critical infrastructure entities that should be off-limits to cyberattacks. Those 16 sectors include chemical, commercial facilities, communication, critical manufacturing, dams, defense industrial base, emergency services, energy, financial services, food and agriculture, government facilities, healthcare and public health, information technology, nuclear reactors, materials and waste, transportation systems, and water & waste management systems.