For a long time, Russian President Vladimir Putin let the international community fidget, but now the decision has followed: There will be a meeting with US President Joe Biden.
Moscow - Russian President Vladimir Putin had long left it open whether he would accept the invitation of his US counterpart Joe Biden to a personal meeting.
But now it is clear: the summit will take place - on June 16 in Geneva.
The White House and the Kremlin announced the decision almost simultaneously.
The aim is to develop Russian-American relations, the Kremlin said in a statement.
International issues should also be discussed, including the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and resolving regional conflicts.
Biden meets Putin after his first trip abroad
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Biden and Putin would discuss "the full range" of pressing issues.
The aim is to restore "predictability and stability" in bilateral relations.
It wasn't that long ago that Biden called Putin a "killer" * in an interview.
Biden's first trip abroad takes him to the G7 summit (June 11-13) in Great Britain and to the top NATO meeting (June 14) in Belgium.
A top meeting of the USA and the EU * is also planned in Brussels on the same day.
Then he travels to Geneva.
Biden meets Putin: Arms control will also be an issue
The talks should also be about arms control and strategic stability in the world.
An agenda has not yet been set, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov had previously said.
Regardless of the preparations, the Kremlin made it clear almost daily that Vladimir Putin * still had to make the decision about the direct talks - on the basis of a detailed analysis of the meaning of such a summit.
Decision about Biden-Putin meeting was a long time coming
After consultations between Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, a joint statement circulated in Washington and Moscow on Monday said: “The meeting was an important step in preparation for a planned summit between the United States and Russia, the date and place of which will be announced at a later point in time. ”The discussions were therefore constructive“ and enabled a better understanding of the mutual positions despite the differences that still existed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov met in Reykjavik, Iceland last Wednesday.
Since then, a decision on the summit had been expected almost every day.
At the Climate Summit initiated by US President Biden, a curious scene arose between Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron.
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(dpa)
List of rubric lists: © Alexander Zemlianichenko