Putin says US wants to ‘hold back’ Russia as Biden meeting looms

Russian president says he wants to improve strained ties with the US but sets a tough tone ahead of Geneva summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he wants to improve Moscow’s ties with Washington when he holds his first summit with US counterpart Joe Biden later this month, but he set a tough tone ahead of the meeting and said the US wants to “hold back” Russia’s development. The face-to-face meeting scheduled to take place in Geneva on June 16 comes amid deeply strained relations between the United States and Russia. Tensions are running high over a litany of issues including the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny and the conflict in Ukraine, as well as allegations of hacking and election meddling.