Kremlin spills beans on Tuesday's Putin-Biden talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak to his American counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday via a secure video link, and the first part of the discussion will be broadcast to the public, the Kremlin has revealed.
Speaking on Monday, spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed that the two Presidents will then continue discussions in private. Putin has no plans to make a statement after the meeting has finished, Peskov noted.
"We believe it will be a rather detailed and lengthy video conference," he told journalists, explaining that it would begin at around 6pm Moscow time, which is 10am in Washington.
Peskov also noted that he did not know whether the meeting would be one-on-one, or if Biden plans to bring a delegation.
The plan to meet was initially revealed last week by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov, who said the discussion will focus on Russia's proposal for new security guarantees, which the Kremlin hopes will end the eastward expansion of NATO.
The plan for an online summit between Putin and Biden comes five months after they met in Geneva, in what was described by both presidents as a productive meeting.
Despite its apparent success, hopes for improvements in Russian-American relations appear to have been unfounded, and they have significantly deteriorated since.
In recent weeks, the relationship between Russia and the US-led NATO bloc has worsened, as Washington and Brussels have taken aim at Moscow for an apparent buildup of troops near the Ukrainian border.
Some Western media outlets have claimed Russia will imminently invade. According to the Kremlin, Russia is just moving troops on its own territory, and it should be of no concern to anyone.
