Committed

After a 5-hour conversation in a narrow and expanded format, Biden noted that Putin was not in the mood for a new Cold War.

Nuclear security is at the top of the US-Russian agenda. Last fall   the administration of Trump rejected Putin’s proposal to extend the treaty on the further mutual reduction of arsenals of deployed strategic nuclear weapons START-3 without preconditions. In January, Biden and Putin agreed to extend the agreement without additional conditions for five years - until February 5, 2026. The treaty limits the total number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 for both sides.

In 2019, the United States also withdrew from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty), followed by a symmetrical response from Russia in early 2020. The arms race began. By the fall of 2020, both sides announced the creation of hypersonic missiles. American missiles proved to be far superior to their Russian counterparts. On September 19, 2020, Trump stated that the United States possesses the most powerful weapon in the world: “We have created the most powerful weapon known to mankind. It is true ... I am just saying that we have the most powerful weapon in the world, but I will not specify the type of the weapon. You had better not know about it. God forbid to us to use it ever, but we have the most powerful weapon ever created by man. "

In response, on October 26, Putin issued a statement "On additional steps to de-escalate the situation in Europe in the context of the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty)", in which he pledged "in good faith "not to take further steps to deploy "Iskander" missiles.  At the same time, he noted that Russia would take such a step only on condition that NATO would rule out the deployment in Europe of weapons previously prohibited by the INF Treaty.

Russia's goodwill remains unanswered, and judging by the talks between Biden and Putin, the parties have not reached an understanding on this issue this time.

However, at the meeting, Putin promised to work with Biden to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Time will tell what this interaction will be, but rather, Russia, as the builder of a nuclear power plant in Iran, has pledged to prevent the infiltration of nuclear weapons technology to the Iranians.

The Biden administration may renew its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCA) for the Iranian nuclear program. During the presidential race, Biden announced this intention, seeing in it an important element in the settlement of relations between the United States and its European allies, who were not enthusiastic about Trump's policies.

Biden pledged that the United States would rejoin the JCPA, which was signed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany with Iran in 2015, if Iran returns to full compliance with the agreement.

Prior to the Biden-Putin meeting, Russia called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) not to politicize the situation around the Iranian nuclear deal and return to calm interaction with Tehran. On June 12, another round of negotiations on the nuclear deal began in Vienna. The main goal is to bring the United States back to the negotiating table in order to lift anti-Iranian sanctions in exchange for Tehran's fulfillment of its obligations under the JCPA. It can be said with caution that the United States is returning.

The issue of China's nuclear potential remains unclear. Last year, the United States made it a precondition for extending the agreement to include China in order to limit the buildup of its nuclear power. Although the precondition was later ruled out, the problem remains, and it is not known what opinion the leaders of the United States and Russia came to, each of whom is concerned about the growing power of the PRC.

In July 2020, Beijing announced that it would not take part in trilateral arms control talks with the United States and Russia until they reduce their nuclear arsenals to par with China - 90% of the world's nuclear arsenal is held by the United States and Russia.

The issues of maintaining stability in a number of regions of the world were considered. They talked publicly about Afghanistan, from where it is planned to withdraw NATO troops under the auspices of the Americans. Putin has promised to help ensure security in Afghanistan, in the Hindu Kush, he said. On May 1, NATO countries led by the United States began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The Western military must completely leave the country by September 11, 2021. They may be replaced by a coalition - Pakistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and a number of other countries that the Afghans are ready to accept in order to implement inter-tribal dialogue.

Other important issues concern the United States and require an urgent solution. These are the military intervention of Russia in Ukraine, the activities of Russian hackers, the persecution of Alexei Navalny, and climate change.

Ukraine. “I reaffirmed the United States' unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We agreed to engage in diplomacy to implement the Minsk agreements,” Biden said. Putin said at a final press conference that Russia's only obligation to Ukraine is to facilitate the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Hackers. Biden presented to Putin 16 infrastructure objects that are categorically unacceptable for hacker attacks. The Russian authorities expect that Moscow and Washington will be able to cooperate in the fight against cybercrime, Putin said in an interview with NBC.

Navalny. Biden said after a meeting with Putin that he made it clear to him that the consequences of Navalny's death in captivity would be devastating for Russia. Putin, answering journalists' questions, said that the decision on Navalny's safety was not made by the Russian president; but this does not mean that Putin did not hear Biden.

Climate change. In April, at a session of the climate summit initiated by Biden, Putin said that Russia is realizing the task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and it is sincerely interested in intensifying international cooperation to find solutions to climate change and other pressing global problems.

"I am very pleased with Putin's call for the global community to work together to push forward the reduction of carbon dioxide," Biden said at the climate summit session in Washington. This attitude continued at the meeting in Geneva.