Diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia have experienced a dynamic change since January 2021 after Joe Biden took over the White House as President. His predecessor, Donald Trump, was known to turn a blind eye to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Biden and Putin, who are scheduled to have their first in-person meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, are expected to put up a show of strength on a bilateral international platform. 

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Biden, who recently wrapped up the G7 summit in Britain and is meeting NATO leaders in his first-ever international trip as the President of US, said in a statement, “We’re not looking for conflict—we are looking to resolve those actions which we think are inconsistent with international norms”, reported Wall Street Journal.

The meet between the two world leaders of arguably the two strongest countries in the world is likely to revolve around particular diplomatic potholes, which the countries have stumbled upon in the past six months.

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Diverting from the conventional US-Russia summits, which talk about weapons reduction and containing each other’s nuclear arsenals, the upcoming meeting will see discussions on cyberattacks, human rights, election interference and Biden’s “killer” comment.

While interacting with ABC News, Biden was asked if he believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was a killer, to which he replied “I do”. However, this comment was shrugged off by Putin last week saying that he is used to facing “attacks from all kinds of angles”, reported Washington Post.

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Biden, on many occasions, has condemned Russia-induced aggression on its western neighbour Ukraine. Earlier this month, US projected support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and invited country’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky for a meeting at the White House next month.

The imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is also likely to pivot the meeting as the White House has previously spoken against his imprisonment and has cited human rights concerns over his treatment.

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Other areas where the two leaders might walk a tightrope include issues related to the middle eastern unrest, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the detention of the Belarusian critic and the alleged Russian interference in US elections.