Moscow does not hide its satisfaction: the Putin and Biden summit, at the initiative of the White House, is returning to the recognition of Russian power at its fair value, after weeks of verbal escalation and shoe noise around Ukraine.
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Since January and the arrival of the new American president to power, relations between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated rapidly. Thus, the Russian ambassador was summoned after Joe Biden considered his counterpart a “murderer”.
Russia also received new sanctions, was reprimanded and the country’s main opponent, Alexei Navalny, was imprisoned and caught red-handed, according to Washington, with several piracy operations.
Moscow then deployed a fleet of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers to the Ukrainian border, accusing Kiev of intentions that could justify the invasion.
In this context, Joe Biden’s proposal for a two-way summit in a neutral city is a diplomatic surprise that seems so pleased with Moscow, with Washington being the first to make the gesture.
If the Kremlin does not immediately accept the proposal that Biden made during a telephone interview Tuesday evening with Mr. Putin, the Russian president may speak that same evening with his Finnish counterpart, Sulli Niinistö, whose country hosted the last meeting at this level in 2018, between Mr. Putin and Donald Trump.
– important success –
In any case, the Russian diplomat soon made it clear that it was awaiting his orders.
It is the prerogative of the Presidential Administration. “But of course we will do our part to act,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Russian officials also praised the significance of the event.
Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council (upper chamber), Konstantin Kosachev, considered such a summit as “world news” and that Biden had shown his desire to “hold this meeting quickly.”
For the head of the State Duma’s foreign affairs committee, the United States “has taken a step from confrontation to dialogue.” “It is good that the leaders of the two largest nuclear powers are willing to cooperate,” said Leonid Slutsky.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, compared the importance of the Biden-Putin summit to its significance, in the midst of the Cold War, with Ronald Reagan, which resulted in the nuclear disarmament treaty.
That is why the Russian political scientist Fyodor Lukyanov points out that “the possibility of holding this meeting in Russia will be presented as an important success.”
“In a way, this is the case, while Biden not long ago spoke insulting to Putin,” he said.
It is believed that the “temperature” has actually decreased, stressing that the military pressure on the Ukrainian border will soon decrease because no one “has an interest in military clashes.”
Where’s Navalny?
On the contrary, the news of organizing the summit leaves some in the Russian opposition frustrated, considering it a concession to Putin and his quest for recognition.
“Summit? What does the United States still have to talk about with Putin? That is exactly what Putin wants, a one-on-one meeting that gives him legitimacy,” Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion and Kremlin critic, prompted on Twitter.
Supporters of the Russian president were also happy for exactly the same reasons.
“Biden was the one who requested the phone conversation yesterday, and it was Biden who called and Biden was the one who wanted to discuss the summit,” notes more than sarcastically by Vladimir Soloviev, an advocate of the authorities and a hated figure in opposition.
Decoding the White House press release in its internet broadcast, reluctantly announce the list of topics not found there that are usually raised by the United States.
Where are human rights? Not a single word about gays in Chechnya! Not a word on LGBT +! Especially one word on Navalny, where is Navalny? It’s a call between Biden and Putin, not a single word “to the opponent, he said.
