President Joe Biden Meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin This June 16 to Fix Relations

For the most part, the coming summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be an opportunity for both leaders to straighten out issues and restore both countries' relations. Biden's negative references to Putin have angered the Russian leader on many occasions. Putin, however, agreed to set their difference aside to set things right between Moscow and Washington, reported USA Today via MSN.

Much is expected from the first face-to-face between the Kremlin leader and Biden, who has been in office less than six months. The White House said last Tuesday that topics would include all relevant issues that need immediate attention.

Concerns have been raised over the adversarial state of affairs of both countries after Biden has repeatedly raised issues far different from that of Donald Trump, the former occupant of the Oval Office.

Actions of the Biden administration that drew Putin's ire

Last March, the White House imposed sanctions on Russia in connection to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his arrest. The Kremlin saw it as interference in its affairs, which caused a severe fallout as Joe Biden continued with his tough stance.

In April, the current US administration imposed further sanctions on Moscow, accusing it again of intervening in the 2020 presidential race and hacking of the SolarWinds firm with malware, which impacted many US federal agencies and private companies. It will be one of the talking points between the two leaders' meeting.

Adding to the tensions was when the White House put sanctions on three dozen individuals and companies and expelled 10 Russian diplomats, discussing the incident with Kremlin. In response, Putin called out Biden's move and kicked out 10 US diplomats.

Biden called Putin a killer during an interview with ABC News in March, and it also became an issue. But he dodged a challenge from the Kremlin leader who might have an ax to grind. The summit will be public, and the president's cordon sanitaire might not be effective in Switzerland.

His predecessor, Donald Trump, proved better at fostering a more amicable relationship with Putin, which the Russian leader reciprocated.

The CNN mentioned that Biden had cautioned Putin that the US would not back off, "I could have gone much further" in reaction to the cyberattacks, but "I decided not to. I decided to be reasonable."

He added that it was not his goal to start a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia, adding that the US wants to have a stable, predictable relationship.

Following last Tuesday's statement, Brett Bruen, a former State Department ambassador, tweeted saying Biden sees next month's meeting "as a chance to offer Russia an off ramp from the wayward route." Putin takes the opportunity to show that he can once again outpace the West's efforts to pull him in.

Before the leader-to-leader summit, Biden's national security team has sought to normalize relations. The other week in Iceland, Secretary of State Antony Blinken engaged with his Russian counterpart and addressed areas of cooperation, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump