World: Biden and Russia President Vladimir Putin prep-up to convene for their first highly anticipated summit.
The talks in Geneva, Switzerland, come at a time when both sides describe relations as being at rock bottom.
The talks are speculated to last for hours, set to begin at 11:00 GMT at a sumptuous villa overlooking Lake Geneva.
The supreme powers would dialogue over arms control, sanctions and US allegations of Russian cyber-attacks and election interference. However, no breakthrough achievement is expected from the meet, sources revealed.
The meet follows Mr Biden’s first foreign trip as the US President, in which he has also attended meetings with G7 and NATO leaders. Going into the summit, Mr Biden has stressed that he has the backing of his Western partners.
Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, told journalists in Moscow that the US-Russia relationship was “at an impasse”, and there was “not much” ground for optimism.
On asking about their expectations, both the countries stated no hopes of major development.
Officials from the two sides say Biden and Putin will initially huddle only with translators and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. They will then switch to a larger format.
However, unlike in 2018, when Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump met Putin in Helsinki, there will be no joint press conference at the end.
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