Biden and Putin conclude high-stakes diplomacy at Geneva summit

“This is an attempt to stabilize the situation,” Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, told CNBC Wednesday. “The slogan from the Americans has been that they want predictability and stability in the relationship and it has been on a downward spiral, things have been getting worse.”

Still, Bond did not think that there would be a return to “business as usual” with Putin unlikely to change, particularly given domestic pressures due to the Covid crisis and its impact on the Russian economy and living standards.

“It makes sense for him (Putin) to try and keep his adversaries off balance and guessing what his next move will be,” Bond noted. “The Americans will try and impose more framework on this relationship but I’m not sure they will necessarily succeed.”