Foreign Policy "Biden-Putin Discussing Second Summit"

(Photo by Foreign Policy)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Amid growing concerns over the increased Russian military presence near the Ukraine border, foreign media reports have emerged that the United States and Russia are discussing holding a second summit between their leaders.

On the 18th (local time), Foreign Policy (FP), a U.S. political and diplomatic magazine, reported that Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, confirmed that preparations are underway for a virtual meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and President Putin.

If this meeting takes place, it will be the second face-to-face encounter between the two leaders following their in-person summit in Geneva, Switzerland, last June. The exact date for the second summit has not yet been set.

Foreign Policy also reported that Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, and Nikolai Patrushev, Russian Security Council Secretary, spoke by phone the previous day to prepare for the summit.

Spokesperson Peskov stated, "This was all conducted within the framework of preparations for high-level contacts." A senior Kremlin official said the two discussed current issues including Ukraine, cybersecurity, and the Belarus-Poland border situation.

The U.S. side refrained from directly commenting on whether the second summit will be held. Emily Horne, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, said, "The call between Sullivan and Patrushev covered various key issues in U.S.-Russia relations but did not mention preparations for a summit."

The preparations for this summit come amid growing concerns within the U.S. government over Russia’s inexplicable military movements along the Ukraine border.

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern about the possibility of Russia repeating its 2014 invasion of Ukraine that led to the annexation of Crimea. CIA Director William Burns, who visited Russia earlier this month, warned that the U.S. is closely monitoring the buildup of Russian forces.

If the summit takes place, it is expected that Presidents Biden and Putin will discuss this issue directly. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, director of the Atlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security and former senior director for Russia at the National Security Council during the early Biden administration, said, "Such discussions need to be handled at the highest level, and President Putin needs to hear directly from President Biden." She added that delivering the message in a summit would give Putin an opportunity to change course without appearing weak.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.