Secretary of State John Blinken is visiting Iceland and attending the Arctic Council Foreign Ministers’ meeting on Wednesday. During that time, he will have his first face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The two men’s meeting comes at a time of tension between the U.S. and Russia. They will set the stage for a planned meeting between President Biden and President Putin next month.
The State Department said the meeting between Blinken and Lavrov is an opportunity for the United States to discuss building a more predictable relationship with Russia and working together in areas where the two sides have common interests.
A State Department official accompanying him told the press that the Biden administration has made progress in improving relations with Russia, including the two sides’ promise to extend the nuclear weapons treaty, but has encountered difficulties in a number of other areas.
The U.S. has criticized Russia’s recent imprisonment of Kremlin critic Navalny, Russia’s increased military deployments in the Ukrainian border region and a cyber strike on the largest U.S. fuel pipeline believed to be carried out by Russian-based hackers.
Russia said the government was not involved in the cyberattack and accused the United States of trying to interfere in Russia’s internal affairs, including the imprisonment of Navalny.
Before arriving in Iceland, Blinken was in Denmark to discuss the economy, security, climate change and the Biden administration’s efforts to boost relations with allies with relevant officials.
In an interview with a local news station in Copenhagen, he said President Biden firmly believes in the importance of U.S. involvement in international affairs because when the United States is absent other parties, such as China or Russia, may take advantage of the situation and may take measures that are not in line with U.S. or Danish interests and values.
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