Joe Biden: The last thingPutin wants is a Cold War

GENEVA (Agencies): Biden bounded onto a stage flanked by large American flags to tell U.S. journalists about his meeting with Putin, taking off his aviator sunglasses as he reached the lectern.
“It was important to meet in person,” Biden said. “I did what I came to do.” He said his goal with the meeting was to establish a relationship that is “stable and predictable.” But by Biden’s telling, he raised uncomfortable topics including ransomware atta-cks emanating from Russia, the wrongful imprisonment of two Americans and Putin’s mistreatment of political opponents.
“How could I be the president of the United States of America and not speak out about a violation of human rights,” Biden said. “I made it clear to President Putin that we will continue to raise issues of fundamental human rights, because that is who we are.” “My agenda is not against Russia or anybody else. It’s for the American people,” Biden said.
Biden said this means that diplomats and military experts from both countries will meet for what he called a “strategic stability dialogue” to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures.
He did not say when the talks would begin. The idea is to work out a way to set the stage for negotiations on an arms control deal to succeed the New START treaty that is set to expire in 2026. Biden said the upcoming months would serve as a “test” on whether their discussion today would prove to bring the nations closer to progress.
“That’s going to be the test. I am not sitting here saying because the president and I agreed that we would do these things that all of a sudden it’s going to work. I’m not saying that. What I am saying is I think there’s a genuine prospect to significantly improve the relations between our two countries, without us giving up a single, solitary thing based on principle and our values,” Biden said.
Biden noted that there were no “threats” during today’s summit.
“It was very, as we say, which will shock you coming from me, somewhat colloquial, and we talked about basic, basic fundamental things,” Biden said.
Biden said he doesn’t think that his Russian counterpart is looking for a new Cold War. “I don’t think he’s looking for a Cold War with the United States. I don’t think it’s, as I said to him, I said, ‘your generation and mine are about 10 years apart. This is not a Kumbaya moment as you used to say back in the ’60s in the United States, like let’s hug and love each other. But it’s clearly not in anybody’s interest, your country’s or mine, for us to be in a situation where it’s a new Cold War,'” he said.
Biden went on to say that he thinks Putin understands but he added that it doesn’t mean Putin is “willing to lay down his arms and say come on.”