Kremlin Warns Against ’Inflated Expectations’ From Putin-Biden Summit

By Staff, Agencies

The upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Joe Biden, scheduled for 16 June, is highly important, but one should not expect too much from it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"This is indeed a very important meeting. At the same time, it would be wrong to have inflated expectations", Peskov said, as aired by Russia's Channel One.

The two countries disagree on so many things that "there is no reason to expect any progress in reaching [an] understanding," according to the Kremlin spokesman.

He then assured that Both Putin and Biden will have the possibility to raise the topics that each of them prioritizes.

"The beginning of a top-level dialogue is a very positive sign despite the deplorable state of bilateral relations. You know that President Putin wants to improve the state of our relations ... But this is only possible with mutual understanding and consideration for each other's interests," Peskov continued.

Moscow previously expressed hope that Putin and Biden would discuss global strategic stability and the US-Russia relationship itself at the upcoming Geneva talks. The White House noted that the agenda will include Ukrainian and Belarusian issues, as well as the New START treaty, and the situation in Iran.