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Biden and Putin shook hands in Genava and then entered the villa where the summit is due to take place after appearing at the entrance festooned with US, Swiss, Russian flags following welcoming remarks by Swiss President Guy Parmelin.
Pictured sitting down inside he building, Mr Biden was heard to tell Mr Putin via his translator that it was “always better to meet face to face”.
Both have said they hope their talks in a lakeside Geneva villa can lead to more stable and predictable relations, even though they remain at odds over everything from arms control and cyber-hacking to election interference and Ukraine.
“We’re not expecting a big set of deliverables out of this meeting,” a senior U.S. official told reporters, saying the two are expected to talk for four or five hours starting at around 1.30 pm (1130 GMT).
Putin and Biden arrived at the summit venue early on Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m not sure that any agreements will be reached,” said Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Relations have deteriorated for years, notably with Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, its 2015 intervention in Syria and U.S. charges – denied by Moscow – of its meddling in the 2016 election that brought Donald Trump to the White House.
(More to follow)
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