After their summit in Geneva on Wednesday, President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they have agreed to resume stalled nuclear talks and return their ambassadors to their foreign posts. Currently, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, and Washington’s ambassador to Moscow, John Sullivan, are not stationed at their posts. Both men were recalled this spring after Biden announced U.S. sanctions aimed at punishing Russia for a massive cyberattack last year on American government agencies.
Putin said at a press conference that his talks with Biden were “very productive” and “there has been no hostility” between the two. At his own press conference, Biden called the talks “good, positive” and added that the talks were not “done in a hyperbolic atmosphere — that is too much of what is going on.”
On Wednesday, Putin and Biden reached an agreement that consultations on “strategic stability,” shorthand for nuclear arsenals, would resume between the two nations. Working-level officials, not the two presidents, will decide the composition, location and frequency of these talks. Biden said that in practical terms this means “get our military and diplomatic experts together to gain control over new and dangerous weapons systems.”