US president Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet in Geneva on Wednesday for talks aimed at arresting a rapid decline in relations between two countries beset by mutual distrust.
In their first face-to-face meeting as leaders, the presidents will grapple with accusations, complaints and charges against one another, including alleged Russian cyber attacks and election meddling, US sanctions against Moscow and the Kremlin’s misgivings over Nato military expansion in eastern Europe.
Other irritants in the relationship are torn-up arms control agreements, war in Ukraine and Moscow’s jailing of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, leaving few obvious areas of co-operation.