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Biden will meet Russian President Putin on June 16 in an
18th-century Swiss villa overlooking Lake Geneva for a summit
that will cover strategic nuclear stability and the
deteriorating relationship between the Kremlin and the West.
"We expect this meeting to be candid and straightforward," a
White House official said.
"A solo press conference is the appropriate format to clearly
communicate with the free press the topics that were raised in
the meeting — both in terms of areas where we may agree and in
areas where we have significant concerns."
Putin, who has served as Russia's preeminent leader since Boris
Yeltsin resigned on the last day of 1999, said ahead of the
summit that relations with the United States are at their lowest
point in years.
Asked about Biden calling him a killer in an interview in March,
Putin said he had heard dozens of such accusations.
"This is not something I worry about in the least," Putin said.
The White House has said Biden will bring up ransomware attacks
emanating from Russia, Moscow's aggression against Ukraine, the
jailing of dissidents and other issues that have irritated the
relationship.
Biden has said that the United States is not seeking a conflict
with Russia, but that Washington will respond in a robust way if
Moscow engages in harmful activities.
Russia says the West is gripped by anti-Russian hysteria and
that it will defend its interests in any way it see fit.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and
Michael Holden)
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