Biden & Putin Agree to Return Ambassadors to Posts

On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their summit meeting that has lasted for about 65 minutes.

In a press conference held after the summit, Putin said they have agreed to return their ambassadors to their posts in a bid to lower tensions. Russia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, was recalled from Washington about three months ago after Biden described Putin as a killer. U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow almost two months ago after Russia suggested he return to Washington for consultations.

Biden and Putin plunged into the face-to-face talks on Wednesday at a lush lakeside Swiss mansion, a highly anticipated summit at a time when both leaders say relations between their countries are at an all-time low.

As the two leaders appeared briefly before media at the start of the meeting, Biden called it a discussion between “two great powers” and said it was “always better to meet face to face.” The meeting in a book-lined room had a somewhat awkward beginning — both men appeared to avoid looking directly at each other during a brief and chaotic photo opportunity before a scrum of jostling reporters.

Biden nodded when a reporter asked if Putin could be trusted, but the White House quickly sent out a tweet insisting that the President was “very clearly not responding to anyone question, but nodding in acknowledgment to the press generally”.