Joe Biden Meets Vladimir Putin: Latest Updates From Geneva Summit
- President Joe Biden will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday
- Biden Putin summit time set to be 1:35 p.m. local time (7:35 a.m. ET)
- Meeting is expected to take 4-5 hours but could be longer with breaks
- Biden is expected to raise the issue of recent ransomware attacks and cyber security concerns
- Putin recently dismissed Biden's previous comments agreeing the Russian leader was a "killer"
President Joe Biden will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday in their first summit meeting since Biden entered the White House. It will be the president's first time confronting a leader widely regarded as a U.S. adversary.
The meeting takes place following G7 and NATO summits, with Biden describing the NATO meeting on Tuesday as an "incredibly productive day." However, the meeting with Putin will likely be a different experience as Biden is expected to raise the issue of recent ransomware attacks on the U.S. that have been linked to Russian hackers and the imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, among other potentially contentious issues.
Follow our live blog for updates
Russian navy conducts largest exercise since Cold War
The Russian navy is conducting the largest naval exercise since the Cold War ahead of Wednesday's summit between Biden and Putin. The exercise involves surface ships, anti-submarine aircraft and long-range bombers and is taking place in the Pacific 300 to 500 miles west of Hawaii.
Three F-22 stealth fighters were scrambled from Hawaii's Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Sunday but they did not intercept any Russian aircraft. A U.S. carrier strike group is conducting a planned strike group certification exercise around 200 miles east of Hawaii.
Biden-Putin summit time and schedule
The White House has released President Biden's schedule for Wednesday, including his summit with Putin and a meeting with the Swiss president. All times are Central European Summer Time (CEST), which is six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST).
Biden received the presidential daily briefing at 9.30am local time.
1.10pm: Biden meet Swiss President Guy Parmelin at Villa La Grange, Geneva.
1.25pm: Biden takes a welcome photo with Parmelin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
1.35pm: Biden and Putin hold a bilateral meeting at Villa La Grange.
2.55pm: Biden holds an "expanded bilateral meeting" with Putin.
4.40pm: The expanded bilateral meeting with Putin continues.
Biden will hold a press conference without Putin once the meeting has concluded but no time has yet been announced for it. Following the press conference, the president will depart Geneva and head back to Washington, arriving at 11pm EST.
Biden set to confront Putin for first time
Both leaders have acknowledged that U.S.-Russia relations are at a historic low point. Biden has previously agreed that Putin is a "killer" but the Russian president dismissed the comments as "Hollywood macho."
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday, Biden said: "This is not a contest about who can do better in front of a press conference or try to embarrass each other. It's about making myself very clear what the conditions are to get a better relationship are with Russia."
"We're not looking for conflict. We are looking to resolve those actions which we think are inconsistent with international norms, number one. Number two, where we can work together," Biden said.
Crimea electronic warfare stations switched on
Russia's electronic warfare stations in Crimea will be switched on ahead of the meeting between Biden and Putin, according to state-owned news agency RIA Novosti. Citing a source in the the security forces, the agency reported on Wednesday that the stations along the border with Ukraine will be placed in active mode to prevent what it described as "possible Ukrainian provocations" into Russian airspace.
Crimea had been part of Ukraine but was annexed by Russia in 2014 after the Russian military entered the region.
