U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are scheduled to meet on Wednesday night ahead of a potential presidential summit in June to try to strengthen the deteriorating ties between the two former Cold War adversaries.
The face-to-face negotiations, which will take place on the sidelines of an event in Reykjavik bringing together eight foreign ministers, will be the highest-level summit since US President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January.
Relations have been strained after Biden said in March, not long after taking office, that he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a “killer,” leading Moscow to recall its US ambassador for consultations. The ambassador has not yet returned.
The White House floated the possibility of a summit last month, although it is yet to be verified officially. According to government sources quoted in Russia’s Kommersant newspaper on Monday, Switzerland is the most likely place.
