Biden’s ‘Aim Is to Move Our Relationship with Russia to a Place of Stability, Predictability’
It's Putin who's coming into the leaders' meeting in a weak position, says former NATO supreme commander
Although some are questioning the wisdom of holding the upcoming meeting between President Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Biden has particular goals for the encounter, according to top White House spokeswomen.
Meanwhile, Biden will go into the conference this coming Wednesday — following the G7 meeting in Britain and a NATO summit in Belgium — with Putin the one “holding the weak hand,” according to former Navy admiral and NATO supreme allied commander James Stavridis.
The meeting between the world leaders will be the first since Biden became president — and the first in four years without the controversial, and often bizarre, relationship between Putin and former president Donald Trump. Trump's dealings with the Russian leader were marked by unprecedented secrecy in which Trump wouldn't even allow transcripts of the pair's conversations.
Given recent provocative actions coming from Russia, some have said now is not the time to “reward” Putin with a summit.
“Putin has two Americans, Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan, in jail, on fishy charges. He, in all likelihood, poisoned and has definitely jailed dissident Alexei Navalny. He just this week outlawed Navalny's political movement. Why reward Putin with a summit with the president of the United States?” asked CNN host Jake Tapper. “Is the really hope that there's anything that can be accomplished with this man using diplomacy?"
That's not the way that Biden sees the meeting, replied White House Press secretary Jen Psaki.
"Well, Jake, let me first say, we definitely don't see it as a reward. We see it as a meeting that's in the interest of the United States, because we want to move to a place in our relationship with Russia that’s more stable and more predictable,” she said.
It's a similar theme White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield returned to in a separate interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, which touched on Russian involvement in recent cyberattacks.
“So this will certainly be a topic of conversation, this issue of ransomware and hacking. As we have said the Russian government is not responsible for these hacks that we have seen over the last few months but are absolutely accountable for the actions of maligned actors or criminals who’re harbored within their borders," Bedingfield said. “So, President Biden has said many times that this is something that the Russian government is accountable for, should be accountable for. Responsible governments don’t allow criminal actors to engage in this kind of activity from within their borders.
"And, you know, we can’t tolerate allowing these rogue actors to be able to hack into critical infrastructure in the United States. So, this will be a topic of conversation at the G-7 and one that the leaders will be discussing,” she added. “And I would anticipate it will also be a topic of conversation in his meeting with President Putin later next week.”
Like Psaki, Bedingfield said that Biden has a definite agenda for the meeting.
“Well, as he said many times he is going to meet with President Putin, not in spite of our differences, but because of our differences. And it’s going to be a frank and candid discussion. You know, President Biden has known President Putin for many years. As you know well, Andrea, he’s met with President Putin face to face before. And this will be a candid discussion,” Bedingfield said. “He will raise issues of concerns, certainly human rights violations, and the Russians government behavior regarding Alexander Navalny, insurgence on the Ukrainian border, the cyber issue, ransomware issues that we were discussing. These are things that are going to be on the table and President Biden is going to discuss with President Putin.
‘Consensus’
"But he’s also going to discuss areas of consensus. You know, his aim is to move our relationship with Russia to a place of stability and predictability," she added. "And there are areas where there is consensus, and where it is in the interest of the United States to work with Russia, including on issues like nuclear proliferation. That’s why we signed an extension of the New START Treaty with the Russian not long after we came into office.
"So, there are areas of consensus, there are also areas of deep concern. Both will be on the table for discussion when the leaders meet next week.”
Despite his tough talk, and tough-guy image that he projects, it's Putin who comes into Wednesday's session in the weaker position.
So said retired Navy admiral and former NATO supreme allied commander James Stavridis.
“Yeah. This is what Vladimir Putin does what he does, which is, he’s got a weak hand of cards if you really think about it. His population is declining. His economy is a one-trick pony: oil and gas. He is someone who has very thin level of allies and partners around the world. He’s got domestic opposition at home, although his overall approval ratings are still reasonably high,” Stavridis said. “But despite having a pretty bad hands of cards he plays it well tactically in the sense of staying out in the public eye, creating difficulties for the United States, being a spoiler from Syria to Ukraine, to cyber, and now this really if you will rude timing of announcing that Navalny’s organization is going to be an extremist group terrorist just before the summit, so look for more shots across the bow from Vladimir Putin because that’s what he does.
"And remember that Putin is playing to his domestic audience, his base, if you will. He is playing to those few allies around places like Belarus. And he is playing to President Xi in China. He’s trying to show Xi that he’s a player that Russia matters and he’s going to try and consolidate a closeness between Russia and China. We have to be quite concerned about all those things,” he added.