Expectations from Putin-Biden Meeting: What you need to know

Picture Courtesy: The Washington Post

1. On Monday, Joe Biden will be at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, but all eyes are on the meeting with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

2. Political analyst Lilia Shevtsova says 'he wants to be seen like US president. He wants respect on his terms. He wants to show his strength and stay in a group of powerful leaders'.

3. Both countries do not have friendly relations. Russia recently put the US on the list of 'unfriendly states'. Both countries have no ambassadors, and the US has put sanctions on many Russian officials for everything from the annexation of Crimea to alleged interference in US elections.

4. Two former US soldiers are in a Russian jail, one of them is serving a 16-year sentence for naval espionage.

5. Not only this, in an interview in March, US President Joe Biden even called Vladimir Putin a murderer. The White House has said it aims to build a lasting and predictable relationship with Russia.

6. Last week, Vladimir Putin said to the media that "there are issues we can work on with the United States, including nuclear arms control, Syria and Libya regional conflicts and climate change. If we find a way to do things, then we can say that the meeting has not been in vain"

7. Russia has recently insisted on the exchange of prisoners, but neither of the countries is ready to accept each other's terms.

8. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly targeted Western countries. He believes that the biggest threat to Russia at the moment is the West. He said that the world needed to know about Russia's prestige and power.

9. Lilia says "Biden can make his rage about Navalny and human rights, but Putin will also take it same America does. But the meeting means that after discussing human rights issues, both the leaders will move towards solving the main problem and that will be doing something to reduce the tension in the relationship.