Donald Trump’s 2018 Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a manifest disgrace. The former president was thoroughly manipulated by Putin into undermining America and its values.
And if Helsinki’s watchword was shamefulness, Geneva’s watchword is nothingness.
Meeting with Putin in this Alpine city on Wednesday, President Joe Biden rebranded existing areas of compromise as new signets of his diplomatic success. He spoke of the two nations’ shared commitment to the Iran nuclear deal and current negotiations on new nuclear arms controls. But when it came to the great challenges in U.S.-Russian relations — humanitarian considerations in Syria, human rights, the conflict in Ukraine, and cybersecurity — Biden said “we’ll find out” whether any progress was made.
This silly line speaks to his broader delusion. Biden appears to believe Putin shares his desire for consensus genuinely. Asked in his solo press conference how he intended to take on Russian election interference, Biden said he explained to Putin that such interference “diminishes the standing of a country that is desperately trying to ensure it maintains its stature as a world power.”
When questioned as to how he would measure Putin’s compliance with America’s warnings, Biden responded, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We’re going to find out shortly.”
Such platitudes do not lend confidence that this summit was anything other than an opportunity for both leaders to speak under the Swiss sun.
Even on topics that Biden hinted at a tougher stance, such as his threat of retaliation in further cyberattacks on American economic and utility sectors, he was unclear as to whether this retaliation would follow Russian ransomware attacks. Instead, Biden said he had asked the Russian delegation what it would think if U.S.-based ransomware hackers disrupted Russia’s oil-export market.
This was an opportunity for Biden to make clear future Russian ransomware attacks, such as the recent attack on the Colonial Pipeline, would result in Russia’s oil industry suffering its own disruptions. Alas, no. Biden appeared to pledge the U.S. government wouldn’t conduct such retaliation.
Putin was thus left with no reason to stop what he’s doing. He may continue to give his Federal Security Service intelligence agency free rein to contract hackers to attack America, then share their ransom proceeds. That’s a cozy deal for the Kremlin — not so much for America.
In contrast to Biden, Putin was in fine form. At his own press conference, Putin offered a mix of absurd platitudes and obvious distractions. Cleverly embracing Democrats’ propaganda, Putin insisted that the Jan. 6 Capitol riot meant he could not be condemned for his assassination of domestic critics and repression of peaceful protesters.
In a similar vein, Putin railed against American racial injustices, apparently forgetting the epidemic of racist crime that infects Russia. He heralded his and Biden’s laughable pledge to pursue new rules on cybersecurity.
Most of all, Putin reminded us that he likes to be the center of attention but also regards the United States to be his fundamental and enduring nemesis.
The central problem that the vast majority of our media colleagues appear to have missed is that the Biden administration is actually trying to negotiate with Putin from a position of weakness. The decision to hold two separate leader press conferences was one firmly in Putin’s favor.
It allowed the Russian leader to obfuscate and deceive as to the nature of the two nations’ challenges while simultaneously deceiving the U.S. Putin didn’t get a clear red line, but he did get an opportunity to suggest falsely that he’s open to compromise. It’s a dynamic that will encourage already appeasement-minded European governments to defer to Moscow.
This was a summit without substance. Both sides postured, but only Putin gained the prestige of having brought Biden to the world’s most neutral territory to talk. That makes it a victory for Vlad.
