The meeting of the leaders of the United States and Russia in Geneva was a big step that was closely watched all over the world. The two met and talked for about three hours and a general attitude was to improve the relations between the two powers. The two discussed mutual areas of interest as well as touched upon difficult issues.
US President Joe Biden seemed content with the talks and stated that he did what he had gone to do. In the press conference held after the talks, President Biden described the Russian position as difficult due to the pressure being built by China. He also accepted that the two countries shared a “unique responsibility” on the world stage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the talks as “constructive” and seemed happy with the lack of hostility between the two parties. He praised his American counterpart for being experienced.
Amongst the issues discussed, the important matters were cyber security, military presence in Ukraine, nuclear arms control, human rights and ways to lift up the relations between the two countries. It has been decided that ambassadors will be re-placed in the countries which was a change in policy since March 2021 when the envoys had been called back. The relationship between the two has been on a low since US President Biden took charge. The two powers agreed to work on their relations as well as to strengthen the global order in general.
This meet is important for many reasons. In the current times when many experts can feel an undercurrent of Cold War, an open channel between the US and Russia will act as a diffuser for escalating tensions. This meet immediately after the G7 Summit is bound to have much more effect considering a feeling of alliance. China is an important factor for both the countries for different reasons and a transparent discussion about all the other matters will help deal with it. Despite differences, the two countries in the past have managed to overcome their differences and reach a positive stage.
The talks did not have an immediate substantial result. However, they are a sign of the intention to try and improve the status quo. Nuclear weapons and cyber security together form an important aspect of international security. Both the countries possess a powerful capability in those aspects. Thus these talks are a stepping stone towards getting clarity on those matters and work towards building a stricter global norms order.
