After The Biden-Putin Meeting, Observers: It Could Be e A Turning Point And Build A Bilateral Agenda

JAKARTA - The meeting of US President Joe Biden with Russian President Vladimir Putin could be a turning point in the Kremlin's relations with Washington, with a number of bilateral agendas between the two countries.

The senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council (NSC) of the Barack Obama Administration, Charles Kupchan, said the Geneva summit on Wednesday, June 16, could be a turning point in relations between the two countries.

"The meeting seemed to have gone as expected. There were no breakthroughs. However, both President Putin and Biden were more focused on the positive than the negative. Their talks seemed constructive and forward-looking", he said, as reported by TASS Thursday, June 17.

"The meeting could be a turning point in US-Russian relations, halting the decline and perhaps serving as a starting point for improving relations", he continued.

He added that US and Russian diplomats and experts now need to roll up their sleeves, find common ground on cybersecurity, strategic stability, Syria, Ukraine, and other issues of mutual concern.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics Dmitry Suslov said the meeting of the two leaders created an agenda for bilateral relations.

"The summit is very important, it has brought significant progress in Russia-US relations. Firstly, an agenda has been drawn up for this relationship, so the situation is completely different from a few months ago when the Russia-US agenda was suspended", he explained.

"We can't maintain dialogue, let alone make deals. And now, judging by the statements made by President Putin and President Biden, an agenda has been set, which is rather broad. This includes strategic stability, cybersecurity, the Arctic, and diplomatic relations", he said.

Suslov added that the United States was not interested in escalating tensions with Russia, focused on containing China. Meanwhile, Russia wants to avoid new sanctions and a new arms race.

"Thus, the parties have confirmed their interest in stabilizing the relationship, although they remain competitive", he concluded.