One of the most highly-anticipated political events of the year has begun with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden meeting at their summit in Geneva.
The two leaders shook hands as they greeted each other at Villa La Grange in the capital of Switzerland, chosen as the location for the summit due to its history of political neutrality.
On meeting his U.S. counterpart, Putin said he hoped the meeting would be productive.
“Mr President, I’d like to thank you for your initiative to meet today,” Putin said, sitting next to Biden and accompanied by their respective foreign ministers. “It is always better to meet face to face,” Biden responded, Reuters reported.
The summit, which is expected to last up to five hours, includes an initial meeting between the presidents and their closest officials, and then talks between the wider Russia and U.S. delegations will be followed by separate press conferences with the two leaders.
The summit began with a first meeting between Biden and Putin accompanied by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as translators.
After this initial meeting a wider delegation will meet for several sessions before both leaders give separate press conferences; Putin is expected to give the first media update, followed by Biden. No time has been set aside for a meal during the summit, but breaks for the leaders are expected.
