RUSSIALINK: “Kremlin expecting Putin-Biden talks to be substantive, long” – Interfax
MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax) – A virtual meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden is expected to take place after 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday and to continue for a long time, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
“At around 6:00 p.m. We expect the videoconference to be quite long and substantive. The conference will be held via an encrypted video channel. I believe it will be quite long,” Peskov told reporters.
The beginning of the videoconference will be broadcast, Peskov said. “Naturally, only the beginning will be shown. The rest of their communication will be conducted in private,” he said.
“We expect it to be a conversation between the two presidents. I cannot say who might be standing next to President Biden,” Peskov said.
Before conducting serious negotiations of the kind, Putin always consults relevant ministers and agency heads, Peskov said. “All parties to the current stage in our bilateral relations are in touch with the Russian president,” he said.
[article also appeared at interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/73307/]