The head of the Bundestag, following the Swiss president, called the future meeting between Putin and Biden a “sign of hope”. The leaders will hold talks in Geneva on June 16
Wolfgang Schaeuble
The upcoming meeting of the Russian and US presidents in Geneva is a “sign of hope”, the head of the Bundestag, former German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, said in an interview with the Funke group.
“We are all happy in the person of President [Joe] Biden to have a partner who understands the responsibility of the United States to ensure that the world does not lose stability,” he said (quoted by TASS).
Schaeuble added that Russia should not have been called a regional power in the past.
“Russia is a big and important country, with which we need to cooperate on the principles of respect in order to find answers on such global topics as climate, stability and the fight against hunger,” the head of the Bundestag said. However, it is necessary to clearly express disagreement on issues such as the situation in Belarus or Ukraine, he said.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin also said earlier that he expects progress in relations between Russia and the United States after the leaders ‘ meeting in Geneva. According to him, this meeting “gives a little hope to all world politics”.
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The first summit of Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden will be held at the Villa La Grange in Geneva on June 16. According to Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the meeting will last four to five hours, taking into account the break. It will consist of three parts: meetings in a narrow format and in an expanded format, and the continuation of negotiations after a coffee break.
In addition to the presidents, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will participate in the talks in a narrow format. According to the Foreign Minister, Russia does not have “any”…> illusions that some “breakthroughs” are coming. “But there is an objective need for an exchange of views at the highest level on what threats Russia and the United States see as the two largest nuclear powers in the international arena,” Lavrov said. According to him, the very fact of the conversation between the leaders of the two leading nuclear powers is important.