By Shannon Pettypiece - NBC News
GENEVA - President Joe Biden said during a press conference after his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin that he made clear that even as Washington continues to try to find areas of cooperation, the United States will take action against Russia if the country continues to act to harm the interests of the United States.
Biden said the tone of the meeting was positive, but acknowledged that it will take time to know if there will be any significant progress as a result of the talks.
"I think there is a genuine prospect of significantly improving relations between our two countries without having to give up a single thing in terms of our principles and values," he said.
The US president spoke to reporters after
meeting Putin for just under four hours, slightly shorter
than White House officials had anticipated, although they did manage to discuss critical issues, Biden said.
Moments earlier, Putin also gave a solo press conference in which he adopted a cordial tone but did not seem to back down on key issues such as cyberattacks, aggression against Ukraine or human rights violations.
Biden in command and Putin nervous: this said the body language of the presidents during their meeting, according to an expert
June 16, 202101: 58
Now Biden returns to Washington, ending a week-long tour of Europe.
Before leaving for the summit with Putin, the president assured that he would seek to reduce bilateral tensions by making clear the limits of the United States and outlining the consequences that Putin faces if Russia crosses them.
These are the keys to the meeting:
✔️
Russia's Cyber Attacks Against US Companies
Before the meeting, Biden had said that a key issue would be cyber attacks against the United States by Russian groups.
In just two months since Biden invited Putin to meet, Russian hackers have been linked to cyberattacks targeting both US government agencies, a major meat-producing company and the largest fuel pipeline on the East Coast.
Biden said he warned Putin that the United States has significant cyber capabilities and if Putin violates the rules, he will face a response.
He also added that he gave him a list of 16 entities critical to America's infrastructure that cannot be attacked in any way.
Biden said he expects Russia to take action against groups carrying out
ransomware
(bounty)
attacks
on its territory and that officials from both countries will continue talks in that area.
"Responsible countries must take action against criminals who carry out
ransomware
activities
on their territory," Biden said.
"So we agreed to entrust experts from both countries to work on specific agreements on what is off limits and follow up on specific cases."
✔️
Human rights violations in Russia
Biden said he would continue to criticize Russia for human rights violations, noting that doing so was fundamental to the values of the United States.
"Human rights will always be on the table, I told him," said the president.
“It is not just about going after Russia when they violate human rights, it is about who we are.
How could I be the president of the United States and not speak out against the violation of human rights? "
"We will always keep the defense of our country ahead": Biden imposes sanctions on Russia
April 15, 202101: 04
He added that he spoke with Putin about opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is imprisoned in Russia, and what would happen if he died.
"I made it clear to him that I think the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia," Biden said.
✔️
Pursuing common interests
Prior to the meeting, Administration officials showed little hope that agreements would be reached.
However, both sides did make some progress on a couple of fronts.
The two countries will allow their ambassadors to return to their posts abroad after they were returned to their countries in April when Biden announced a new round of sanctions against Russia and the expulsion of its diplomats, in response to electoral interference, cyber attacks. and other accusations.
Both nations also agreed to start talking about nuclear weapons control.
"We discussed in detail what the next steps are to continue taking gun control measures," Biden said.
"The steps we must take to reduce the risk of unwanted conflicts."
The leaders also discussed negotiating a possible prisoner swap.
They did not reach any agreement, but Biden said the families of those prisoners should be hopeful.
Putin said that "some kind of agreement" could be reached in that regard and that Russian and US officials would continue to discuss the issue.
Two American prisoners in Russia have received special attention.
Trevor Reed, a former US Navy infant who was sentenced last year to nine years in a Russian prison, was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month, and his family is struggling to learn about his condition.
And Paul Whelan, another ex-infant, who was also arrested in Russia and sentenced to 16 years in prison last year.
✔️
Biden seemed to come out unscathed from criticism
The press conference appeared to be error-free on Biden's part, potentially sparing him the criticism other recent presidents faced after meeting with Putin.
For example, Donald Trump was criticized for appearing to take the side of Putin and not that of the US intelligence community on the issue of electoral interference, and George W. Bush was accused of naivety after his comments that he could see through Putin's soul.
This is how we must prepare against cyberattacks that have put multinationals in check
June 7, 202101: 34
Biden appeared to lose his cool at the end of the press conference, criticizing a journalist who asked him why he was confident Putin would change his behavior.
"I'm not sure he changes his behavior. What the heck ... what do you do all the time?
When did I say I was sure?
"
"If you don't understand that," he said of his explanation, "you're in the wrong profession."
But before leaving for Washington, Biden apologized for the comments.
"He shouldn't have been such a wise guy," he said.
✔️
What did Putin say about the meeting?
Putin, for his part, gave an optimistic assessment of the meeting, but did not appear to back down on any of the main issues Biden raised.
He expressed that there was no hostility during the discussions and
described the conversations as pragmatic, specific and substantive
.
The Russian leader said that Biden struck him as a "balanced professional man" and that "obviously it is clear that he has a lot of experience."
But it did not take any responsibility for many of the key issues on which Biden has said Russia needs to change its behavior, including cyberattacks, aggression against Ukraine and human rights violations within the country.
He said the United States was to blame for the deterioration in bilateral relations and suggested that Washington was behind the opposition groups that Russia is fighting.
When asked by reporters about the actions that the United States has criticized Russia for, Putin tried to change the subject with arguments about terrorism, mentioning violent crimes in the United States, the Guantanamo Bay prison and the assault on Capitol Hill. January 6th.