Vladimir Putin’s Encounters With Joe Biden’s Predecessors

President Biden on Monday explained Russia President Vladimir Putin as vivid, tricky and “a deserving adversary.” The two have met in advance of, when Mr. Biden was vice president, and when they satisfy once more on Wednesday in Geneva, he will be the fifth U.S. president to sit across from Mr. Putin on the world phase. In this article is how the conferences went with the former four:

Bill CLINTON

President Clinton was Mr. Putin’s initially U.S. leader. The two met just months following Mr. Putin was elected president and significantly less than a calendar year in advance of Mr. Clinton left business. The Russian leader appeared aloof with Mr. Clinton, whom he clearly considered to be a lame duck, explained James Collins, U.S. ambassador at the time.

The leaders, who never ever obtained to conversing on a initially-name foundation, agreed that rising nuclear powers these as North Korea were being a growing threat, but Mr. Clinton failed to persuade Mr. Putin to accept a U.S. antimissile system to counter it. At the push meeting, Mr. Putin tersely termed the U.S. strategy “a overcome which is worse than the sickness.”

Mr. Clinton termed Mr. Putin “a individual who is a very relaxed and nice spouse in negotiation.”

GEORGE W. BUSH

President Bush invested closely in his relationship with Mr. Putin, and in excess of the study course of his presidency he met or talked with Mr. Putin a lot more than any U.S. leader had spoken with a Kremlin counterpart in the past, explained Tom Graham, former Russia adviser to Mr. Bush at the National Stability Council.