Work to agree format of Putin-Biden talks in Geneva continues

Work to agree the format of negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden continues, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. Read also Kremlin says still undecided if Putin, Biden will hold press conference following summit

“We do not say anything about the format now, work to agree the format continues, I will not tell you anything for now,” he said when asked whether the two leaders will have face-to-face talks in Geneva and whether the two countries’ ambassadors will take part in the negotiations.

Responding to the question from TASS about whether Russia or the United States will be the host party at the Geneva summit, Peskov said, “Switzerland this time.” In diplomatic protocol, there is a formal division according to the ownership of the hall where the leaders meet, even when the meeting takes place in a third country. As a rule, “the host parties” alternate.

The first meeting between Putin and previous US President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Hamburg in July 2017 was held in the hall assigned to the US delegation. Separate Putin-Trump talks were held in Helsinki in July 2018, according to the protocol, the Russian leader was the host of the summit. The last Putin-Trump meeting was held at the G20 summit in Osaka in June 2019. It took place in the common area for the participants in the forum, but formally the hall was assigned to the Americans, and, according to the protocol rules, that meant that Trump was the host of the meeting.