Biden, Putin may meet for talks in person in early 2022 - Kommersant

[November 10, 2021]  MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin may meet for talks in person in early 2022 and speak by video conference before the end of this year, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Wednesday, quoting sources.

Biden met Putin in Geneva in June with relations at post-Cold War lows and troubled by an array of issues including Ukraine, Syria and Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's jailing.

The Kommersant report said the two sides had not yet agreed the details of a new round of talks, but that the preliminary plan was to hold a video conference by the end of this year, followed by a meeting in-person early next year.

The newspaper said the two leaders would discuss a set of agreements they reached at the Geneva summit and that the talks would have a wide-ranging agenda.

The Kremlin told reporters on Tuesday there was no firm timeframe yet for a new round of talks, but that both Moscow and Washington agreed they were needed.

Vladimir Putin meet for the U.S.-Russia summit at Villa La Grange in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/Pool

"There is a understanding that a meeting is needed, that communication between the two presidents should be continued," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; editing by Angus MacSwan)

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