Putin-Biden summit begins in Geneva

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden have begun talks in private in the library hall on the ground floor of the Villa La Grange.

Before that the media was let in for an official photo session. Both leaders dropped several remarks. Also, they exchanged a couple of words when the reporters were leaving the room.

After the photo session the talks began behind closed doors. The two leaders are accompanied by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and interpreters.

Earlier today, Putin has expressed the hope that the talks with Biden will be productive. "Mr. President, I want to thank you for your initiative of today’s meeting," the Russian head of state said on Wednesday in his opening remarks at the Geneva talks addressing Biden.

"Many questions have piled up in Russian-American relations. I hope that our meeting will be productive," TASS cited the Russian leader as saying..