Putin reveals what he wants from next meeting with Biden
If Russian President Vladimir Putin gets his wish, his next meeting with his American counterpart Joe Biden will be in person rather than via video link, he revealed on Sunday.
Speaking on the Russian TV show ‘Moscow. Kremlin. Putin’, the president expressed regret that he did not travel to Rome for the G20 summit in October, which was attended by Biden. Russia was instead represented by Anton Siluanov, the country’s finance minister.
“We’ll definitely meet [in person]. I would really like that,” Putin said.
The president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said, however, that it is still too early to speak about a possible face-to-face meeting, dubbing it a “matter for the future.”
Suggestions of another potential meeting come less than a week after the two presidents conducted a virtual summit on a wide variety of topics, including cybersecurity, sanctions, the Iranian nuclear deal, and the ongoing crisis in diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow. According to Peskov, Biden and Putin agreed to appoint “trusted representatives” to solve certain issues, with another top-level conversation to be conducted further down the line.
Peskov also noted that the chat had been “mutually respectful” and “positive in terms of the tone of communication.”
Putin and Biden last met face-to-face in June this year, when the two presidents held a summit in the Swiss city of Geneva. Both leaders were positive about the event in subsequent press conferences, noting that their discussions had been cordial and constructive. It was the first time the two men had met following Biden’s inauguration as president in January this year.
