Putin seeking ways to improve ties with US

A screen shows President Putin speaking yesterday during a plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he hopes to improve deeply damaged relations with the United States when he holds his first summit with US counterpart Joe Biden later this month. The face-to-face meeting in Geneva on June 16 comes amid the biggest crisis in ties between the two countries in years, with tensions high over a litany of issues including hacking allegations, human rights and claims of election meddling. “We need to find ways to regularise these relations,” Putin told the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, adding that bilateral ties are currently at a “low level”. Usually joined at the forum’s main session by other world leaders, the Russian president was alone on the stage yesterday with a moderator, and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar participating via videolink. “We have no disagreements with the United States,” Putin said. “They only have one disagreement: they want to hold back our development, they talk about it publicly.” Speaking to Russia’s Channel One television later in the day, Putin said that he did not expect any breakthrough in Geneva but said it would be good to discuss topics of mutual interest. “I expect a positive result,” said Putin, 68. The two previously met in 2011, when Biden served as vice-president and Putin was prime minister. Putin said he remembered that meeting, praising the 78-year-old US leader as a “very experienced” and “careful” politician. Since taking office in January, Biden has ramped up pressure on the Kremlin, and his comments likening Putin to a “killer” were met with fierce criticism in Moscow. The Biden administration imposed new sanctions over what US authorities say is Russia’s role in the massive SolarWinds cyber-attack and alleged meddling in the 2020 presidential election. Biden said he is also “looking” at possible retaliation after the White House linked Russia to a cyber-attack against global meat processing giant JBS. Putin said yesterday that those claims were “risible”. “I’ve heard about some meat processing plant. That’s nonsense,” he said. “I think US security services should establish who this blackmailer is. Not Russia for sure.” Washington has also harshly criticised Moscow for the near-death poisoning and subsequent imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Yesterday Putin signed a law barring “extremist” groups from participating in parliamentary elections, with a court in Moscow holding a hearing next week as it considers whether to assign the label to Navalny’s organisations. The diplomatic crisis with the United States has resulted in a mutual expulsion of diplomats, with Moscow prohibiting the US embassy from employing foreign nationals, practically halting its consular services. The Saint Petersburg International Forum (SPIEF), which is often referred to as Russian Davos, is the country’s main showcase for investors and brings together business and political leaders. It is one of the largest offline events held in Russia and the world since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, although the number of participants was restricted to 5,000, nearly four times fewer than when it was last held in 2019.