Biden to Press Putin on Respecting Human Rights in Geneva

(L) President Joe Biden waits to speak as he visits the Sportrock Climbing Centers in Alexandria, Va., on May 28, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) (R) Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a meeting with members of the Council of Legislators of the Federal Assembly, at the Tauride Palace, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on April 27, 2021. (Alexei Danichev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

WILMINGTON, Delaware—President Joe Biden on Sunday said that he will press Russian President Vladimir Putin to respect human rights when the two leaders meet in June.

During a speech honoring the Memorial Day holiday, Biden said, “I’m meeting with President Putin in a couple weeks in Geneva making it clear we will not, we will not stand by and let him abuse those rights.”

The White House said on Friday it was planning to move ahead with the summit between the two leaders after Microsoft flagged a cyberattack on U.S. government agencies by Nobelium, the group behind last year’s SolarWind hack that originated from Russia.

The Kremlin has said it has no information about the latest attack.

In announcing the June 16 meeting, the White House said the two leaders will discuss a range of issues with the goal of restoring “predictability and stability” in the Washington-Moscow relationship.

It comes amid strained relations over U.S. election interference that Moscow denies, cyberattacks, and Ukraine.

By Jeff Mason