By Jonathan Allen - NBC News
President Joe Biden ended his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday with few tangible results than those that diplomatic negotiators are so obsessed with achieving.
Both leaders agreed to establish a relationship framework for part of their advisers to maintain dialogue on certain key issues.
But Biden sent a terse message to his Russian counterpart: stop meddling with the United States and international norms.
"
The bottom line is that I told Putin that we need to have some basic rules
," he explained at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where the historic meeting took place. "This is the path that we can all follow," he added.
Biden's first foreign tour has served to close the term of his predecessor, almost three years after then-President Donald Trump publicly showed his approach to Putin by meeting with him in Helsinki, Finland.
Thus, the
United States has reaffirmed the relationship with its European allies and has marked the distances with Russia
.
Now it is up to Putin to decide whether to act against cyberattacks against the United States, whether to reassess his aggressive stance against Ukraine and whether to stop attacking his opponents.
Biden himself assured that he is not sure if Putin will really take action on the matter.
"
I don't trust him to change his attitude,
" he went on to say.
But both Democrats and Republicans argue that it was vital to communicate to the Russian president the goals of the new government and its international partners.
"The value of the trip is to realign America with our true allies," insisted Democratic Congressman Tom Malinowski, a former State Department official and human rights activist, on Biden's meeting with European leaders before meeting Putin.
"The value of the summit is that it was an opportunity to tell Putin, clearly and directly, what are the red lines of the United States
now that we have a normal president who plays for our team,
" he added.
US officials have expressed concern that Russian hackers will render US computer systems inoperative and demand a ransom to restore them.
The government and Congress are studying what retaliation to take against Russia if it allows them to act with impunity.
"
It's really important that Russians understand that they will face consequences
" if there are cyber attacks, said Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a member of the Armed Services Commission and a former State Department official.
"I hope the president has been firm about it," he added.
Biden told reporters that he did not directly threaten Putin, but pointed out 16 areas of "critical infrastructure" that he believes should be "off-limits" from cyber or physical attacks.
Indeed, Biden drew a line around him and warned Putin that he will have to be held accountable whether the government or independent Russian entities skip it.
"I pointed out to him that we have significant cyber capability, and he knows it," Biden stressed.
"You do not know exactly what it is, but it is significant.
And if they do violate these basic rules, we will respond ... cybernetically,
" he said.
US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16, 2021. (AP Photo / Mikhail Metzel / Pool Photo via AP) AP / AP
Biden was not asked if this means that Russian hackers can attack other targets without fear of US retaliation.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Democrat Adam Schiff, said he had asked the White House before the trip to work with US allies to
draw up an international sanctions mechanism if Putin refuses to stop the cyberattacks. from Russia
.
"These entities operate with the blessing of the Russian government, or they would not exist," said Schiff.
Biden stressed at times the value of personal relationships in foreign policy, especially with regard to Putin's willingness to reaffirm his credibility with other world leaders.
"
All foreign policy is a logical extension of personal relationships
," he explained.
"This is how human nature works. And understand, when you lead a country that does not abide by international standards - and yet you need those international standards to be managed in some way to obtain the benefits derived from them - it hurts you," he said.
His approach to Putin has little to do with the personal, he said.
"
It's not about trust ... It's about self-interest and checking self-interest
," he said.
Biden may one day take credit for causing a change in Putin.
But you may also have accomplished very little with your journey.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said she was "very proud" of Biden in a brief interview.
"He represented our country, our values and our strength at that meeting," he said.
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June 9, 202100: 44
But Cheney was concerned that the government's policies, specifically lower defense spending than it would like, could give Putin wings instead of keeping him at bay.
"They're not just going to watch what we say," Cheney said.
"They are going
to watch what we do,
" he added.
Biden's message to Putin was to tell him that he will be watching what he does.