Moscow and Washington are continuing on Wednesday July 28 in Geneva the strategic dialogue started on the shores of Lake Geneva by Vladimir Poutine and Joe Biden in June, in an attempt to stabilize a very degraded relationship.
Read also: In Geneva, Poutine and Biden tell each other their four truths
The meeting, which takes place behind closed doors and in the absence of the media, is scheduled to begin around 7:30 a.m. GMT and discussions among delegations led by State Department No.2 Wendy Sherman on the US side and Vice- Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov, Russian side, should take a good part of the day.
Arms control under debate
Russians and Americans alike have tempered expectations and no spectacular results can be expected for this second meeting, which must deal with thorny issues related to arms control. Bonnie Jenkins, recently confirmed as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, is part of the American delegation. "
Through this dialogue, we seek to lay the foundations for future arms control and risk reduction measures
," the State Department explained in the statement announcing the meeting.
For Sergei Riabkov, it is a question of determining whether the Americans "
are serious in their desire to establish a targeted and energetic dialogue on strategic stability
" but he warned Tuesday: "
I would not raise the bar of expectations too high
”.
A context of tensions
The meeting comes amid tensions on several fronts between the two nations, with the United States threatening Moscow to take action if Russia does not end the wave of cyberattacks which, according to the American authorities, are largely coming from of its territory.
Russia denies responsibility, but Vladimir Putin praised Joe Biden's efforts to make relations more predictable.
On Tuesday again, the US president bluntly attacked his Russian counterpart during a speech to the intelligence services.
He accused Russia of working once again to influence the American elections like the campaign waged in 2016. "
It is an outright violation of our sovereignty,
" he accused.
The Russian president "
has a real problem, he's the head of an economy that has nuclear weapons and oil wells and nothing else,
" Joe Biden said, adding: "
It makes him even more dangerous according to him. me
”.
Read also: Biden accuses Russia of wanting to disrupt the 2022 legislative elections in the United States
During their historic Summit on June 16, the two presidents - who are at the head of the two largest nuclear arsenals in the world - insisted on the need to speak to each other, stressing that even at the height of the Cold War, Moscow and Washington spoke to each other to avoid the worst.
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