Biden, Putin to Meet June 15-16 in Geneva for First Summit

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 15 and 16, the first summit between the two leaders since the American president took office.

“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 in a statement Tuesday.

Relations between the U.S. and Russia are poor due to Putin’s aggression toward neighboring countries and his treatment of political opponents, as well as American financial sanctions against his government and associates.

Both leaders have signaled an interest in negotiating a new nuclear arms reduction pact, however.

Since Biden took office, he’s imposed additional sanctions on Russia in response to the poisoning and detention of Putin opponent Alexey Navalny. He’s poised to soon sanction Belarus, whose leader Alexander Lukashenko is close to Putin, after Lukashenko’s regime forced a Ryanair Holdings Plc flight to land in Minsk on Sunday in order to arrest a political dissident aboard the plane.

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