"The Security Equation." Moscow expects “local warming” after meeting with Biden
Moscow
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Based on the results of the upcoming summit between US Presidents Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, agreements in two areas are most likely.
Kommersant writes about this, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Moscow and Washington appear to be approaching the upcoming summit with the most modest expectations in 30 years. The Russian authorities delayed responding to the American side’s proposal to hold a summit, fearing that the matter would come down to moralizing by Joe Biden, including public ones. Moscow wanted to know in advance what the presidents would talk about and what the practical outcome might be. The US administration initially proposed holding a meeting without a pre-agreed agenda, so that the leaders would simply establish face-to-face contact and freely talk about pressing issues,” the article notes.
As a result, the United States agreed to the agenda, which was discussed on May 19 in Reykjavik by the heads of the foreign ministries of the Russian Federation and the United States, Sergei Lavrov and Antony Blinken, and later, during negotiations in Geneva, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev and Assistant to the US President for National Security focused on this topic Jake Sullivan.
“Negotiations between the Foreign Ministry and the State Department (at the level of heads of relevant departments) and further contacts between the Kremlin and the White House are planned for the near future. During this preparatory work, it is expected (in addition to issues of logistics and epidemiological safety) to agree on the agenda of the conversation between the two delegations in an expanded format, while the presidents will have time for a free conversation during negotiations in a narrow format,” the newspaper points out.
The publication's sources in Russian government agencies say that, although no "reset" is planned, the summit could still lead to positive practical progress, characterized as a "local warming."
“The most likely agreements are in two areas: strategic stability and working conditions for diplomats. They will not necessarily be recorded on paper; we are talking about developing a common position that can be presented orally,” the publication says.
Moscow submitted its proposals for cooperation in the field of strategic stability and arms control in writing to Washington during the Donald Trump administration. This document has not been published, but the Russian Foreign Ministry explained its essence. Thus, Russia proposes that the United States develop a so-called strategic or security equation, “which would take into account the evolution of both military-technical and military-political aspects of security” and would include “all offensive and defensive weapons, both nuclear and non-nuclear, capable solve strategic problems."
The other day Sergei Lavrov confirmed that these proposals are still on the table.
The meeting of the presidents of the United States and Russia will take place on June 16 in Geneva, which was officially confirmed by the Kremlin.
Let us recall that earlier, the US President stooped to filthy insults against Russian leader Vladimir Putin, after which the Russian ambassador was recalled from Washington.
Biden then called Putin and proposed meeting in a third country to discuss problematic issues in relations between the two countries.
English version :: Read "The Security Equation" in English. Moscow expects a "local warming" after the meeting with Biden.