At earlier meetings of the G7 and NATO this week, he convinced fellow western leaders to include language in their final statements backing him up. The threat of cyberwar: Entering his talks with Putin, Biden made clear that cyber-attacks - and in particular the recent spate of ransomware hacks waged by criminal syndicates operating inside Russia - would constitute a major part of his talks.īiden believes countries like Russia have a responsibility to tamp down on cybercrime originating in their countries.
That allowed Biden to rebut many of his points. His concluding press conference came ahead of Biden in a piece of highly planned summit choreography. The one difference in Wednesday's appearance was its reach: Because he'd just concluded a highly anticipated summit with the American President, his remarks were broadcast around the world, including on American television networks. Nor was it out of character for Putin, who has often worked to cultivate relationships with American leaders, even as he blatantly shrugs off their concerns in public. This was not a surprise to American officials, who did not enter the talks believing Biden would magically be able to change Putin's rhetoric, much less his behavior. "I think both sides manifested a determination to try and understand each other and try and converge our positions," he said.īut he went on to perform the same type of equivocal, denial-filled performance he always does when pressed on issues of cybercrime, human rights and Ukraine. Similar rhetoric: When Putin emerged after the hours-long summit, he acknowledged the meeting with Biden was "constructive."
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The optics: Skeptics of Biden's meeting with Putin questioned whether meeting the Russian leader so early in Biden's term might elevate the ex-KGB spy's stature on the world stage.īiden's aides were mindful of that risk one of the reasons they determined against holding a joint press conference was that it could potentially upgrade Putin if he was seen standing alongside the American President.īut when Biden sat down with Putin inside the Villa la Grange, he took it upon himself to describe Russia and the United States as "two great powers," a notable word choice after previous American officials have sought to downplay Russia's influence. His reply was different from Trump's."īiden, meanwhile, was open about the areas on which he confronted Putin - including election meddling and human rights, which Trump often downplayed or ignored altogether in his meetings with the Russian leader. "His predecessor had a different view," he said. Wednesday's summit was undoubtedly different.
They decided against a joint press conference to avoid a similar scenario. New president, new perspective: An overriding goal of Biden's team in planning his summit with Putin was to avoid the spectacle that unfolded in Helsinki in 2018, when then-President Trump met Putin alone for two hours and emerged to say he took the Russian's word over US intelligence on election meddling. "It seems to me that we did speak the same language."
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"He's a balanced and professional man, and it's clear that he's very experienced," Putin said. Vladimir Putin gave a somewhat similar description. "The tone of the entire meeting was good, positive," Biden said, adding: "The bottom line is, I told President Putin that we need to have some basic rules of the road that we can all abide by."
Judging within those parameters, the summit seemed to have met its goals. "All foreign policy is a logical extension of personal relationships.
"I know we make foreign policy out to be this great, great skill, that somehow is sort of like a secret code," Biden said at his concluding news conference. The importance of meeting in person: Biden's decision to convene Wednesday's summit boiled down to his essential view of foreign affairs: it's all about the person. Here are the biggest takeaways from the meeting : US President Joe Biden's meeting Wednesday with his Russian counterpart came after months of diplomatic wrangling over the details, days of preparation with reams of research and the elaborate construction of two separate lakeside venues for the leaders to appear afterward.
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