The Presidents of Russia and the United States of America, after a personal meeting, which will be held in Geneva on June 16, will separately speak to reporters.
This became known after the statements of the White House and the Kremlin.
Until Saturday, both sides indicated that Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden would answer journalists' questions after the summit, but the interaction would take place with media representatives from their own countries.
There were no reports denying or confirming the holding of the joint press conference.
Meanwhile, on June 12, a White House spokesman spoke about the already approved details of the upcoming meeting, saying that Washington "has a plan to hold a working session and session in a narrower format, as well as a separate press conference by President Biden after the meeting."
“We expect the meeting to be frank and straightforward, and a separate press conference is an appropriate format to clearly convey to the free press the topics that were raised at the meeting, both in terms of areas where we may have agreement, and those where we have serious reasons for concern, ”TASS quoted him as saying.
After that, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, indicated that after the talks, Putin will also talk to the press separately.
“Most likely, this is the practice of the American president.
As we know, the US President also held a separate press conference in England.
They did not hold a joint press conference with Boris Johnson, ”the Kremlin spokesman explained.
Biden's predecessor as president of the United States, Donald Trump, did not shy away from joint press conferences.
In July 2018, during the summit in Helsinki, he, along with Vladimir Putin, answered questions from journalists.
During that press conference, the Russian president presented the head of the White House with a soccer ball.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of the FIFA World Cup hosted by the Russian Federation.
According to Konstantin Blokhin, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the unwillingness of the head of the White House to participate in joint press conferences is due to the fact that Joe Biden is not a very skillful speaker.
“Biden, of course, is not an orator, he looked weak against the background of Trump, and even weaker against the background of Putin, there is a risk for him to receive image damage.
A journalist asks a question to two leaders, it is clear that Biden will look faded.
Most likely, the Americans do not want to take risks, "said the interlocutor of RT.
Grigory Yarygin, associate professor of American Studies at St. Petersburg State University, also believes that the American administration is trying to minimize situations in which Biden can be compared with leaders of other states, as well as with his predecessor Donald Trump.
“Precisely because such a joint press conference took place during the meeting between Putin and Trump, (now the US president decided to communicate with journalists separately. -
RT
) in order to avoid comparisons that would follow. The American side will focus on its list of issues. For Biden, this press conference will be needed for an “internal” audience: this is the collective West and directly the residents of the United States, "the expert explained in an interview with RT.
The first personal meeting of Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden as presidents of Russia and the United States is scheduled for June 16.
It will take place at the Villa La Grange in Geneva.
It is expected that the heads of state will communicate both face-to-face and with the participation of members of delegations and assistants.
The agenda includes discussion of bilateral relations, issues of strategic stability and the topic of combating the spread of COVID-19.
On the eve of the summit, the Russian leader gave an interview to the American television channel NBC News.
The head of state noted that in recent years, relations between Moscow and Washington "have degraded to the lowest point."
Speaking about his attitude towards what Biden in March called him a "killer", Vladimir Putin said that he was no longer surprised by any kind of attacks in his direction.
In addition, he characterized Joe Biden and Donald Trump, stressing that the predecessor of the current head of the White House is "an outstanding, talented person," and the current American leader is a professional who has devoted his entire adult life to politics.
"This is a different type of people (compared to Donald Trump. -
RT
), and I really hope that yes, this has some advantages and some disadvantages, but there will be no impulsive actions from his (Biden. -
RT
) side," - Putin said.