President Biden Will Meet With Vladimir Putin In Geneva

President Joe Biden plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a summit in Geneva, Switzerland next month.

CNN reports the White House is finalizing arrangements with the Kremlin for the summit, but plans for the two leaders to meet have been confirmed.

"President Biden will meet with President Putin in Geneva, Switzerland on June 16, 2021. The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship," the White House said in a statement.

The meeting will be part of President Biden's first international trip since taking office in January. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was reportedly dispatched to Geneva this week to meet with his Russian counterpart in an effort to finalize arrangements for the meeting between Biden and Putin.

A White House spokesperson declined to confirm the location of the host city for the meeting until plans were finalized. The meeting between the two leaders comes nearly three years after Putin met with then-President Donald Trump in Helsinki, Finland.

White House officials said President Biden's meeting with Putin will look very different from that July 2018 summit, which included Trump alongside Putin and openly dismissing U.S. intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

President Biden had previously met with Putin during his time as vice president, which included a 2011 meeting in which Biden said he looked into Putin's eyes and said "I don't think you have a soul."

President Biden initially proposed a summit with Putin last month during a telephone call and representatives from both side have since been working on finalizing details.

CNN reports President Biden is hoping to establish clear communication with Russia that would avoid undue surprises, despite deteriorating relations between the two countries.

Last month, the United States announced a sweeping series of sanctions against Russia over election interference and other instances of "harmful foreign activities."

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