Kremlin Says A Second Biden-Putin Summit Is In The Works

President Joe Biden meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. © AP Photo/Patrick Semansky  

Reuters: Kremlin says security call was part of preparation for new Putin-Biden talks  

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that a phone call this week between top U.S and Russian security officials was part of preparations for talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, the latest in a series of signals that Moscow is keen for a second summit between the two leaders. 

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed cybersecurity, Ukraine and the migrant crisis on the Belarus border in their phone call on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. 

"This was all in the framework of preparation for ... high-level contact," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.  

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Update: Kremlin Says Second Biden-Putin Meeting Is in the Works (Sentinel India/Foreign Policy). 

WNU Editor: Russian President Putin values face-to-face meetings with foreign leaders. It is his preferred way to form a relationship with someone, and also his preferred way to communicate his government's priorities and goals. 

But Putin's first meeting with Biden in Switzerland accomplished next to nothing. 

There was no bonding between the two leaders. No joint press conference. And certainly no common ground to build something for the future. 

So why is the Kremlin pushing for a second meeting? 

I sense a certain nervousness in Moscow.

Tensions are growing in Europe. There is a military buildup underway by both sides. Ukraine President Zelensky's vow to take Crimea by military force is certainly not helping. 

But even though there is a need for a Washington-Moscow meeting to defuse tensions, I am not optimistic that anything will be accomplished should both Putin and Biden meet. There is really no connection between the two men.

But this may all be moot. 

The White House has recently become even more determined to keep the US President in a controlled situation. His public appearances are always choreographed where he is always surrounded by staff or allies And his announcements are always made from reading a script, usually followed with no questions from the press. This is not the ideal environment for someone like Putin to meet Biden, or for any other world leader who meets the US President.

In the end President Putin may get a virtual summit with President Biden like President Xi had early this week. But there will be no private or semi-private one on one conversation with the US President.