Biden to meet Putin on 16 June in Geneva

US President Joe Biden will meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on 16 June in Geneva, the White House announced on Tuesday.

“The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the US-Russia relationship,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki wrote in a brief statement.

The announcement followed talks between the US Secretary of State and Russian Secretary of State Sergey Lavrov in Iceland a few days before.

Matters to be discussed are likely to include the hacking of the Colonial Pipeline which recently fell victim to a sweeping ransomware attack that forced the US company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of pipeline, leading to the disruption of nearly half the East Coast's fuel supply and triggering gasoline shortages in the Southeast.

The assault was carried out by a Russian criminal cybergroup known as DarkSide.

“So far there is no evidence from our intelligence people that Russia is involved although there is evidence that the actor’s ransomware is in Russia, they have some responsibility to deal with this,” Biden said on 10 May. He added that he would discuss the situation with Putin.

The specific agenda and format of the Switzerland meeting is still coming together, CNN reported citing officials.