By Nandita Bose and Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Geneva on June 16, the White House said on Tuesday.
“The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
Biden has previously said he wants Putin to stop trying to influence U.S. elections, stop cyberattacks on U.S. networks emanating from Russia, stop threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty and release jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the U.S. and Russia are lowering expectations for big breakthroughs at the superpower summit, with the two countries in no mood to make concessions on their bitter disagreements. https://reut.rs/3yFgQto
The White House has also been wary of describing Biden as seeking a “reset” in relations with Putin and U.S. officials see a face-to-face as an opportunity to rebalance the relationship away from what they see as former President Donald Trump’s fawning overtures to Putin.
Russian officials told Reuters they see the summit as an opportunity to hear from Biden directly after what a source close to the Russian government said were mixed messages from the new U.S. administration.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Nandita Bose; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Howard Goller)
