A meeting in Geneva
The world is watching, though not quite on the edge of it's collective seat as Joe Biden is set to meet with Vladamir Putin in Geneva today. This will not be like previous meetings between the leaders of US and Russia, since there will be no joint press conference. The reason for that is obvious. Evidently, neither Ron Klain nor Susan Rice think it would be a god idea to expose Biden to questions with Vladimir Putin only feet away. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained it this way: "The fact that you are not prepared to stand six or 8 feet from your adversary and tell the world what you talked about, the things you care about, and why you care about them, shows an enormous weakness." Other world leaders have taken note.
Will the Biden administration show up to do what Pompeo did and hold Russia accountable for its devious activity and make clear there is a red lines?
We will never know. Joe Biden can say whatever he wants after the meeting and Putin won't be standing next to him.
I suppose a better question would be how far can Putin push Biden?
"Putin arrived in Geneva first, around 12:28 p.m. local time, which is 6:28 a.m. on the East Coast and 3:28 a.m. on the West Coast, accompanied by foreign ministers and a translator. Biden brought Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as a translator. Swiss President Guy Parmelin greeted the two leaders.
The three leaders participated in a photo op, with Biden and Putin shaking hands before the meeting.
Officials said "no meal is anticipated," but noted that "there will be some flexibility so leaders can take breaks."
Both Russian and U.S. ambassadors will be in Geneva during the high-stakes meeting, officials said, adding that returning ambassadors to their respective countries is on the table.
After the meeting, each president will hold separate news conferences, which are expected to begin simultaneously around 6 p.m. local time. After the press conference, Biden is expected to fly back to the U.S., concluding his first foreign trip as president."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-putin-meeting-geneva-schedule-issues
Tags
Who is online
79 visitors
This is embarrassing.
This meeting should never have been scheduled.
What is really a tell all is the fact that the customary JOINT press conference with the two 6-8 feet apart isn't going to take place. Words are one thing but the ability to read the body language while each other are talking is priceless. There is a method to this madness eh Mr. Biden and company? Sure there is. "Don't know Joe" would be less than stellar in that venue. MHO
Yesterday he took 5 screened questions from selected reporters. He was 3 hours late in getting there.
"The fact that you are not prepared to stand six or 8 feet from your adversary and tell the world what you talked about, the things you care about, and why you care about them, shows an enormous weakness." Other world leaders have taken note.
Poor old demented Joe is subject to brain lock. Wise move.
The optics alone aren't good. They have to wake Joe up and serve him his tapioca and then get him a teleprompter. Putin most likely got to the gym early this morning, got his briefing on the plane ride, gave Jill a light and is pictured above holding the door open for Joe. I think everyone gets it!
Gee, I wonder what #45 and little Putin discussed in Helsinki which NOBODY WAS PRIVY TO?
They had a joint press conference. Neither man was afraid to do it.
One of the posters here seems to know all about the wild-assed Helsinki conspiracy theory--maybe he can enlighten you.
I didn't see any men there. Just one dictator and one wannabee dictator.
2 medals in one day ... calls for a Canadian song:
What's embarrassing? Why not?
What's next? Maybe Xi Jinping will host a meeting with Biden......in Xinjiang.
As soon as Xi can stop laughing.
Do you think Xi is laughing about the USS Reagan and her assorted support vessels wandering around the South China Sea?
Time for a quote:
"No answer to that question."
"We'll wait"
That happens to be the carrier we have assigned to the Pacific. They were going to take it for operations in Afghanistan.
The answer is simple - Xi is not afraid of Biden. Neither Biden nor his handlers is going to initiate any military actions/responses.
The fear was always that Trump just might. They are glad he's gone. They love Biden.
That fear was only expressed by democrats.
They love? Xi likes the fact that he is sane. Putin hates the fact that he is sane.
'Glad' to see you posting from China's main propaganda/disinformation rag ... I'm starting to think from all of your seeds today that you are a Xi/Putin sympathizer. Looks good on you.
For your re-education ... my 'apologies' for using a strictly American source.
I can't think of anything that's afraid of Biden. He will give in to any and all. He is ready to kiss anybody's ass
I take that back. Twelve year old girls are afraid of especially if he is behind them.
You're confused. That's #45.
Not confused. I've seen the videos of biden the groper in chief in action.
Let me educate you..
My first ship and my third ship in the Navy were the USS MIdway and USS independence, both aircraft carriers stationed in Yokosuka, Japan.
Our main sailing area was the South China Sea, with the exception of the times we were in the Persian Gulf.
Absolutely nothing Vic posted was wrong.
So, you also think Xi is laughing?
btw ... Thank you for your service!
He's laughing at Biden, for sure.
Biden is weak as a leader and only repeats what is on his note cards his handlers gave hime..
And thank you...It was always my pleasure to serve.
The whole world had to fear that Trump would push the button and cause an 'On The Beach" scenario, because that is what WOULD have happened. They don't love Biden, who has continued Trump's China-bashing.
I'd say that fear was in the back of the minds of people all over the world. In fact it may well have been in the back of the minds of the Republicans as well, but since they had to be lockstep with their leader and party, it would never have been expressed, even if the concerrn existed, because so many politicians are programmed robots to their party's platform, rather than concern for the people who put them there..
It sure as hell is news to me that FOX NEWS is China's main propaganda/disinformation rag. Maybe that's why it hasn't been censored in China, whereas others like The New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg, etc are all censored.
I might be in a better position than you to know whether or not Xi is laughing, and personally, I don't think he IS laughing, in particular at the American military provocations, Taiwan provocations, verbal interfering with Chiina's internal affairs and threats to its sovereignty.
Sorry I'm late to play into this game, but I am on the other side of the world and asleep when you're all awake.
THEY LOVE HIM! He's a weakling, who's son took millions from China.
Your daddy trump did that too.
Oh, come on, Vic, You're better than just spouting party line. Making a comment like "They love him" when that is just conjecture on your part lessens your credibiliity.
There are 2 links within Vic's post.
How much did Donald's family take from China?
Really? You mean he did that very UNAmerican thing of actually checking out BOTH sides of a story and considering both before providing an opinion? I watch CGTN almost every day, and I read the China Daily every day, and I read and watch the CTV (Canadian Television) News stories and videos every day, and I read the (Microsoft) Bing News stories every day, and most days I go through the conglomeration of news web sites posted for both the US and World by MSN, and THEN, after working my way through all the propaganda, misinformation and bias I think about what I will post.
That's broad brush you're using there Buzz.
You mean China's side of the story is taken into consideration by most members of this site? I'd rather my brush was too broad than being too narrow.
The Grand Canyon is a sandbox compared to the political divide in America - Be on the wrong side of another's issue and you can get shot. You want an example? A cashier was just shot and killed by someone who resented her telling him to wear a mask.
Ya that represents all Americans. Gimme a break.
I never said it represents ALL Amercans, are you denying that America leads the world in anti-mask violence? I never said every American was UNAmerican, but you're being overly-sensitive.
That's hyperbole on your part.
Thank you. I'm a supreme expert when it comes to exaggeration.
Yes, because he knows he has the forces to take them out any time he wants to. China has more than enough assets to to handle anything close to their shores.
The only reason he doesn't is the threat of nuclear retaliation. The second Xi thinks the US won't use nuclear weapons the US presence in the South China Sea is gone; Taiwan becomes a part of China again; and our allies in the area stop sleeping at night.
And should there be the reality of nuclear retaliation, then there would be nuclear retaliation for the nuclear retaliation, and Art Becomes Life as the movie On the Beach becomes a reality. If one nuclear bomb (and I believe that they are now 100 times more lethal than the Hiroshima/Nagasaki ones) be exploded, it would trigger the end of all our existence, and so as long as leaders are sane, they will remain a deterrent. However, I'm not so sure about Iran.
CONCLUSION:
The Meeting:
The 3 hour meeting is over. There were no deals. No breakthroughs. The US got nothing for the "New Start extension" or the Nord Stream Pipeline. Putin pocketed those chips before the meeting began. From the US perspective it would already have to be considered a failure.
The Separate press conferences:
Putin took questions first and he took them from anybody who wanted to ask, taking questions from 18 reporters. He went on for at least 55 minutes. He gave his view of the world and put his spin on the meeting.
Biden looked physically exhausted, needed to take off his coat and read a brief statement from a teleprompter. Then he took questions from 7 scheduled reporters for only about 22 minutes. One of those reporters was Yamiche Alcindor (activist posing as reporter). Believe it or not, her question involved Putin's description of the Capitol protestors and BLM protestors in a similar manner. Biden's response drew the distinction that Alcindor wanted, as Biden described the Capitol protestors as "criminals" who "killed a cop" and the BLM protestors as people who had simply wanted to be heard. That has to be Biden's all time low.
Before leaving the stage Biden turned back to answer a few more questions. The first one he had no answer for. The second one by Peter Doocy involved Biden always saying that when he was vp and Xi was #2 man in China they spoke every day. Doocy asked that seeing they were old friends, would Biden ask Xi to allow an investigation of the origins of covid. Biden took offense at the old friends part and said we talk business, whatever that means. The last question he took upset him and he went off on a female reporter.
Overall it was a pathetic performance
Good thing you're not a reporter. You would be told to start over and try again!
When did that happen Mr. Biden?
It's incredible how Biden is willing to lie and exploit that poor cop's death for political gain.
Natural causes. You know, what the chief medical examiner reported.
Yes, I agree with the medical professionals, not whatever the hell you base your opinion on.
Biden is lying about his death for political gain and his supporters eat it up because it fits their imaginary reality. . It's pathetic.
If the events of Jan 6 had caused his death, it would be a crime and people would be deservedly in jail for it.
[deleted]
Nonsense!
Putie really appreciates your support !
Putin wouldn't be dishing out this kind of rhetoric and lies and wouldn't be using his misinformation machine to undermine American Democracy this way if he didn't know there were white supremacists and fascist loving conservatives on our shores cheering him on. There is a sickness in America, a sickness of Russia loving white supremacist fascists and conservative Christian Trump supporters who believe Putin and Qanon over our own intelligence agencies. We saw many of them attack the capital on January 6th and of course Putin is going to defend them just as Trump did. Bigoted shit stained brains think alike and everything Putin is saying now is in an attempt to rile up those worthless bigots that are seething after their hero the Tangerine Mussolini was booted out of office.
Oh those damn "White Supremacists!" Don't they ever go to sleep? They must be on no-doze.
Got some extra?
Ridiculous, this would have been an opportunity for Putin to appear as an equal to the President of the US; Russia’s economy is less than a tenth ours, about half of California’s. It would have given Putin the opportunity to repeat Republican talking points (which often started out as Russian propaganda), like the corruption of the Biden family, the election was stolen, we have a race problem, our political system is dysfunctional,… After the massive embarrassment and disaster of the Trump v Putin’ joint presser in Helsinki, it would have been stupid to give Putin the stage again. Read the Fiona Hill interview on Helsinki; she was seriously considering pulling a fire alarm or faking a medical emergency to stop Trump’s humiliation of the US. I remember Trump exiting the private meeting with Putin, he looked like puppy who had been repeatedly smacked on the nose with a newspaper.
Republican presidents have a history of not recognizing what Putin is. GWB said of Putin “I looked the man in the eye, and found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy”. Trump sided with Putin over our intelligence agencies in Helsinki. Obama said to Putin over the election hacking: "International law, including the law for armed conflict, applies to actions in cyberspace,”… "We will hold Russia to those standards." Biden called Putin a ‘killer’.
Also, Putin can say anything he wants and have nothing to worry about at home. After the Trump presidency, the Russian public no longer sees the US system as desirable. They watched as Trump denigrated peaceful protests and activated his moronic base of snowflakes so they would clutch their pearls about football players kneeling. They watched as these peaceful protests turned in to marches, which were also attacked by Trump, and then as these protests turned into riots. They watched as Trump abandoned the US’s international agreements, epically mismanaged the pandemic, and denigrated America’s allies. They see the dysfunction in our political system. We are seen as a country one election away from electing another unqualified buffoon like Trump. In their minds, ours is no longer an example worth pursuing.