The main topics of the first Russian-American summit at the highest level after the election of US President Joe Biden will be the prospects for the development of bilateral relations, strategic stability and "topical issues on the international agenda."

This was reported by the Kremlin press service.

It is specified that in accordance with the agreement reached, the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Joe Biden is to be held in Geneva on June 16.

On May 26, answering journalists' questions, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that one should not expect a "reset" of Russian-American relations. 

“Probably, we wouldn't talk about a reset here.

Our experience of resetting is not the best in bilateral relations - that is, when we tried to arrange this reset, ”Peskov said.

At a May 25 press briefing, White House spokesman Jen Psaki confirmed the Kremlin's information on the date and venue of the summit.

“The heads of state will discuss the full range of pressing issues as we strive to restore predictability and stability in relations between the United States and Russia.

Answering your (journalist -

RT

) question more specifically, we expect that they will devote considerable time to discussing strategic stability, in which direction the arms control efforts should develop after the extension of the START III treaty, ”Psaki said.

In addition, the American side plans to raise issues related to the situation in Ukraine, Belarus and the state of Iran's nuclear program.

Commenting on the criticism of some Republicans who oppose the summit with the Russian Federation, the representative of the White House noted that officials should meet with colleagues from countries with which Washington has disagreements.

“Therefore, we see the meeting with the Russian president not as some kind of reward, but as an extremely important part of protecting American interests.

President Biden is meeting with Vladimir Putin because of differences between our countries, not in spite of them.

This is an opportunity to express concern on the issues where it is, and, again, move towards a more stable and predictable relationship with the Russian leadership, ”added Psaki.

Despite some internal resistance, the White House made a fundamental decision about the need for a face-to-face meeting between Biden and Putin.

This was stated by experts interviewed by RT.

In their opinion, the Russian-American summit "will certainly take place."

The Geneva summit is criticized primarily in the United States, said Professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Vinokurov.

The expert believes that the most Russophobic representatives of the Republican Party are the main source of negative statements. 

“This is called internal strife in the United States.

The fact that some Republicans are opposed to the summit need not be taken seriously.

This does not affect decisions made in the White House, "Vinokurov explained in a commentary on RT.

Negotiating positions

Experts interviewed by RT believe that the presidents of Russia and the United States will pay key attention to the problems of controlling nuclear arsenals and the situation with the implementation of START III (Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms).

Biden kept his campaign promise and extended the agreement for another five years.

Moscow welcomed the decision of the new head of the White House, noting the importance of prolonging START III to ensure strategic stability.

Recall that the treaty prohibits the parties from deploying more than 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers, and from having over 1,550 warheads for these types of weapons.

For deployed and non-deployed launchers, the number of warheads should not exceed 800 units.

  • Trident II sea ballistic missile launch

  • Reuters

  • © US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ronald Gutridge

On May 24, the Russian Foreign Ministry published data on the quantitative ratio of the nuclear weapons of Russia and the United States.

As noted in the Russian Foreign Ministry, the United States Armed Forces went beyond the limits prescribed in subparagraph "c" of paragraph 1 of Article II of the treaty.

Washington exceeded the allowable figure by 101 units.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Washington unilaterally withdrew 56 launchers of Trident II naval ICBMs and 41 B-52H strategic bomber "from the agreement".

"Their re-equipment was carried out in such a way that the Russian side cannot confirm that these strategic offensive weapons have been rendered unsuitable for the use of nuclear weapons, as provided for in paragraph 3 of Section I of Chapter III of the Protocol to the Treaty," the Russian Foreign Ministry's website says.

Vladimir Vinokurov believes that Biden, most likely, will have to explain this situation to his Russian colleague.

The expert stressed that Moscow is traditionally very sensitive to any attempts by the United States to violate nuclear parity and undermine the existing system of treaty obligations. 

Yuri Rogulev drew attention to the fact that the Americans regularly allow themselves to violate START III - the only treaty still in force limiting the deployment of nuclear missile systems.

From the expert's point of view, Putin and Biden can discuss in Geneva the "modernization" of this agreement and the possible conclusion of other documents, taking into account the emergence of new weapons in the arsenals of both powers.

Another hot topic of the Russian-American summit will be Ukrainian problems.

Biden has not yet met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but with his arrival at the White House, the amount of annual military assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine may increase - in April, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a bill that would increase deductions to Kiev from $ 250 million to $ 300 million.

“The United States is concerned about the increased military activity of Russia in Crimea and near the eastern borders of Ukraine and is not interested in the implementation of Minsk-2.

Moscow's position in this regard is the opposite.

Therefore, one should not expect any serious agreements on Ukraine.

In my opinion, at best, the United States will agree with Moscow's thesis on the importance of reducing the escalation of violence in the Donbass, "said Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a conversation with RT.

Blokhin believes that Biden will try to use the arrest of the creator of the NEXTA Telegram channel Roman Protasevich to increase pressure on official Minsk.

“It cannot be ruled out that the issue with Protasevich will be raised by Biden at a meeting in Geneva.

The United States hopes to use this incident to its advantage, but such a conversation is unlikely to be supported by the Russian leader.

It is Washington that promotes this agenda, ”Blokhin emphasized.

Predictability factor

According to experts, the "pivotal" task of the Geneva summit is to stabilize Russian-American relations, which at present cannot be characterized as "civilized."

As political analysts predict, Putin and Biden must find common ground on the issue of normalizing contacts, at least through diplomatic channels.

Rogulyov called the Biden administration "the only one" in the entire history of interaction with Russia that does not put improving relations on the agenda.

At the same time, as the expert argues, this factor does not mean the inevitability of their degradation.

“In the modern world, Russian-American relations should not be in the same state as they are now.

I do not think that the meeting in Geneva will turn everything around, but some clarity will be brought in, the process of normalization should be launched, ”Rogulyov argues.

  • U.S. Embassy on Novinsky Boulevard in Moscow

  • AFP

  • © Mladen ANTONOV

The expert believes that the establishment of a dialogue between Moscow and Washington will have a serious positive effect both for both powers and the world as a whole.

More predictable Russian-American relations, the expert says, are in the interests of "all adequate forces" on both sides of the ocean and in other states.

Vladimir Vinokurov believes that the upcoming Russian-American summit is extremely important for the EU.

In European capitals, according to the expert, they want to see relations between the two powers more predictable.

“We see that the Europeans have postponed a strategic discussion scheduled for late May on relations between Brussels and Moscow.

This clearly indicates that the EU countries intend to focus on the results of the meeting between Putin and Biden, ”Vinokurov said.

Experts are convinced that this spring, the United States made a significant mistake in making unfounded accusations against Moscow.

So, on March 17, in an interview with ABC TV channel, Biden answered in the affirmative when asked whether Putin could be called a “killer”.

In response, the President of the Russian Federation wished the head of the White House "good health" and recalled the children's saying "whoever calls his name is called that."

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled the ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, for consultations on "ways of straightening the Russian-American ties that are in a difficult state."

On May 13, on behalf of Putin, the Russian government drew up a list of unfriendly countries, which included the United States and the Czech Republic, which had previously accused Russian intelligence of the explosions of ammunition depots in the city of Vrbetica in 2014. 

“Most likely, this incident is over and will not have any impact on the negotiations.

I admit that Biden could have had some sediment about the fact that he answered the wrong way and misunderstood the journalist's question.

In any case, he will have the opportunity to personally explain the situation and apologize, ”Vinokurov said. 

In turn, Konstantin Blokhin believes that following the results of the Geneva summit, Washington will not abandon the practice of aggressive attacks on Moscow, but may "moderate" its radical attitude in some areas.

In particular, the expert expects some softening of the US rhetoric about Nord Stream 2.

So, on May 25, Biden recognized the impossibility of stopping the construction of the gas pipeline and called the sanctions against this project counterproductive for relations between the United States and Europe. 

“I think that the Americans will not interfere with the completion of Nord Stream 2.

Instead, they will focus on finding methods so that it is not fully loaded, "Blokhin explained. 

In his opinion, the Biden administration is returning to the scheme of relations, which is to increase the impact on Moscow, "where it is more or less realistic, but to cooperate with it in all areas where there are national interests."

Rogulyov shares a similar view of the policies of the Biden administration.

The interlocutor of RT calls the most important task of the summit "restoration of dialogue."

“The dialogue between the two states at such a high level was actually interrupted.

Therefore, the most important expectation from the summit is, first of all, the resumption of the practice of regular meetings at the presidential level with the discussion of the most pressing issues, ”concluded Rogulyov.