Tango requires two people to jump together. The relationship between the United States and Russia needs more than just this "Geneva tango".
Geneva on the 16th, the sun is very good, the grass is green, the birds are singing, and the lake is sparkling.
However, there are a few more people in the La Grange estate who really have the leisure to enjoy this peaceful and beautiful scenery.
The tit-for-tat confrontation before the meeting, the "stampede accident" that almost occurred outside the villa gate, the quarrel between the LEADERS of the United States and Russia almost overshadowed the applause of the US and Russian leaders in the venue, and the meticulous interpretation of their every move by the media of the two sides reminded people all the time that this meeting was not simple.
And the various "drama" sections in between are quite interesting.
The media on both sides quarreled and shoved
Finally, Biden and Putin met.
It was the only moment in the meeting where the two could face the media camera at the same time.
But after sitting down, the two people exchanged greetings, but the media reporters present did not record a few words.
It is not because the grievances are too deep and there is nothing to say, but the scene is too noisy and chaotic.
Russian radio reporter Pavard accused US officials and the media of disrupting order by trying to get more "their own people" into the scene. A CBS reporter said it was Russian journalists who tried to prevent some American journalists from entering. CNN reporter Collins said without naming names that when the two presidents planned to open their speeches, a reporter blocked other people's cameras, resulting in a tense atmosphere among us and Russian media reporters.
Security personnel rushed the media out. Source: nyt
There was a lot of pushing and shoving, and even some reporters were pushed to the ground.
As a result, the media "watched" the leaders to meet, which became the leaders "watching" the media melee.
Pay attention to details Beware of "misreading"?
All the reporters fought so hard in order to grab the best angle to record this scene and capture the details.
"The devil is in the details". Every move in the leaders' meeting is in the eyes of the outside world as a "major event" worthy of deep excavation and interpretation.
Long before the two leaders met the above, the US media began to wonder, "late to the big household" Putin will not let Biden wait? In fact, he was rarely punctual this time, and he got to the back and forth with Biden, why?
Seeing the above, both sides look like they are trying to avoid eye contact, and Biden seems to be proactive for the first handshake in years, what does this mean?
Sit down, Putin with his legs apart, his hands swinging haphazardly, and his body leaning back, and Biden, who has his legs on his side, his hands clenched, and sometimes "peeking" at small cards, who is more "calm and relaxed", who is "bold"? Even, why Putin wears a classic purple tie, Biden's tie is too light in color, Putin sits on the left, Biden sits on the right, the meaning of which is worth a taste in the eyes of the media.
……
As for what the media wants to shoot and how it may be interpreted, the two parties who met are obviously also prepared.
The US team rejected the proposal to hold a joint press conference in order to prevent the Performance of the Russian side from stealing the limelight when the same frame was in the same frame. The proposal of the host Swiss side to let the two leaders have dinner together was also rejected by the United States and Russia.
"For the question of 'whether to trust Putin', Biden looked into my eyes and nodded affirmatively", seeing the description of the US reporter, the White House immediately came forward to "debunk the rumors", saying that the scene was too chaotic, and the president "very obviously did not answer any questions", just nodded in the direction of the media, reminded the media not to "misread", and paid attention to his speech on the issue of trust two days ago.
Twitter screenshots.
There still has to be a scene
But don't forget, both Biden and Putin know each other that the other is an "old jianghu".
Counting Biden, Putin has dealt with six U.S. presidents. Biden, on the other hand, is, as Putin put it, "a professional politician who spends almost his entire adult life in politics." No matter how tit-for-tat before the meeting, there is no shortage of skills to make a scene.
Therefore, unlike his predecessor Trump, who wrote love-hate on his face, Biden, who is in the same frame as Putin, looks very happy to smile, so that American netizens use the word "enjoyment" to describe Biden's state at this moment.
The US media also noticed that when Putin was chaotic in the media in the venue, he turned sideways and seemed to be joking with Biden.
Because for both the United States and Russia, with too much negative energy accumulated in the relationship between the two countries, even if they know that it is difficult to reach an important consensus in a meeting, it is better for leaders to sit down and face to face than not to see.
What Biden needs is a diplomatic achievement that can prove his achievements when the various initiatives proposed on domestic political, economic, and social issues are difficult to achieve immediate results. In the face of the SEEMINGly indestructible US-Russian relations, Russia, which has a detached attitude, does not mind having a summit meeting with the US side.
How exactly is the real interaction?
A small 90-minute meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and interpreters. The expanded bilateral meeting, which more people joined, lasted about 1 hour.
This is a lot of "shrinkage" compared with the "4 to 5 hours" previously expected by the White House.
Interestingly, though, biden gave a thumbs up before leaving the venue to get on the bus.
Biden gave a thumbs up. Source: metro
Later, in response to a CNN reporter's question, "Why are you confident that Putin will change his behavior," Biden, who was ready to leave, turned around and raised his index finger while scolding the reporter with dirty words: "When did I say I had confidence?" If you don't even understand this, then you're in the wrong line! In the eyes of the US media, Biden "did something very different to Putin" at this time, and his attitude toward reporters was even tougher than that of Putin.
At their respective press conferences, Biden said that Putin had no intention of starting a "new Cold War" with the United States, and that the dialogue was generally good and positive; Putin also said that the talks were "not hostile" or even "constructive."
The joint statement issued by the two sides announced that the two countries will launch a bilateral strategic stability dialogue on arms control and reducing the risk of conflict, confirming that the two countries uphold the principle of "no victor in nuclear war". When relations between the two countries reached a stalemate, the ambassadors recalled by each of the two countries will also return to the host country after this meeting.
It does seem like a fruitful meeting of leaders.
However, in the time of meeting, there were gifts, but there was no follow-up invitation; when facing the camera together, the two sides did not "fist", but did not hug, in fact, there was very little eye contact. This is the most real interaction between the parties in this "Geneva Tango".
The media noted that there was not much eye contact between the two sides. Source: AP
In the View of the Associated Press, after more than three hours of meeting, the two sides "still firmly stand on their original positions," especially on issues such as Navarine, the Russian opposition, and human rights. As Biden said when he intimidated the US media, he never explicitly said that he had the confidence to change Putin.
No matter how Biden rounds the field with "this is not a game", after all, from the tightening of the atmosphere in bilateral relations between the two countries, to Biden's call putin a "soulless killer", the latter's cold response of "take care of the body", the de facto "game" between the United States and Russia has never stopped. As long as the structural contradictions between the two sides and the mutual perceptions based on them do not change, the de facto relationship between the United States and even the Western bloc and Russia will not be as they tried to show in front of this media long gun.
Produced by Deep Sea Studio
Written by Qi Xu
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