US, Russia agree to return ambassadors following talks in Geneva

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to return their ambassador to each other's countries during face-to-face talks in Geneva.

World

1 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

London

16 June, 2021

"It's always better to meet face to face," Biden said before the summit [Getty]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow and Washington agreed for their ambassadors to return, after talks in Geneva with US counterpart Joe Biden.

"They will return to their place of work. When exactly is a purely technical question," Putin told reporters after a summit in Geneva.

Diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington had all but broken down since Biden took office.

After Biden likened Putin to a "killer", Russia in March took the rare step of recalling its ambassador Anatoly Antonov and said the US envoy John Sullivan to Moscow likewise should return to Washington.

Sullivan left Moscow in April, as the two countries announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats.

In May, Russia formally designated the United States an "unfriendly" state, barring its embassy from employing Russian nationals. The only other country on that list is the Czech Republic.