Biden-Putin summit: US and Russia leaders meet for crunch talks in Geneva

Joe Biden, the US President, has arrived in Geneva ahead of a crunch summit with his Russian "adversary" Vladimir Putin. The agenda for the meeting this afternoon is now thought to be finalised and the two leaders are expected to talk for four or five hours, a US official said.

Both leaders say they hope the Geneva meeting, their first in-person encounter since Mr Biden became president in January, can lead to stable and predictable relations, even though they remain at odds over a range of issues from Syria to Ukraine. However, as a note of caution, one senior White House official said that they were "not expecting a big set of deliverables out of this meeting."

Relations are at their lowest point in years, with Mr Biden labelling his Russian counterpart as a killer with no soul, to which Mr Putin responded that it takes one to know one.

Both countries

have recalled their ambassadors. In the build up to the summit, held on neural ground, as Donald Trump did with Mr Putin in Finland in 2018, Mr Biden said: "He's bright. He's tough. And I have found that he is a … as they say, when you used to play ball, 'a worthy adversary.'"

Swathes of Geneva are under lockdown on Wednesday as Switzerland's second-largest city was getting ready to host Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin for a muchanticipated summit meeting, writes our Russia correspondent Nataliya Vasilyeva. Locals are being advised to stay at home to avoid facing countless road closures, roadblocks and security officials.

The entire shore of Lake Geneva within city boundaries has been blocked for visitors, and security officials closed off bridges and roads leading to Parc la Grange, a leafy park on the lake's shore, popular with joggers and dog-walkers. Most of the public transport routes crossing from the city's west to the city's east on the southern shore of the lake have been scrapped, and military vehicles were spotted near Parc la Grange.

Rare pedestrians on Wednesday morning were gawking from behind the security lines to the vast areas closed off for anyone other than the Russian and the U.S. delegations.

Anyone with credentials allowing them to get to Villa la Grange, the summit venue in the park, had to go through at least five security checks on the way there. The plane carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin has touched down in Geneva and he is en route to the summit.

In the build up to the summit, held on neural ground, as Donald Trump did with Mr Putin in Finland in 2018, Mr Biden said: "He's bright. He's tough. And I have found that he is a … as they say, when you used to play ball, 'a worthy adversary.'" Mr Biden arrived in Geneva last night, and is expected to arrive at the summit after Mr Putin. Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin are meeting at the luxurious Villa La Grange, a stately 18th century villa overlooking Lake Geneva.