Foreign
THE announcement that it will host a U.S.-Russian presidential summit in June has pushed the Swiss city of Geneva into organizational overdrive.
The officials were already scrambling on Wednesday to ensure security would be up to snuff.
About 1,000 members of the security forces will be on hand when U.S. President, Joe Biden and Russian President, Vladimir Putin meet on June 16, team leader Laurent Canel told Swiss broadcaster SRF.
It will be part of Biden’s first trip to Europe as U.S. president.
He is already set to attend NATO and G7 meetings while abroad.
Geneva has a history of hosting key meetings.
In 1985, it was the setting for a summit between then U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
It is also the seat of UN institutions in Europe, meaning it is well-populated in terms of diplomatic missions.
Just in the last few months, it has been the site of Libyan peace talks, negotiations on the fate of Cyprus, discussions about a Syrian constitution, and discussions about Iran’s nuclear programs.
Nonetheless, the pandemic has forced many such gatherings to move largely online, meaning the city hopes to resume its place in the diplomatic spotlight with the summit.
“The summit is going to restore to Geneva what it lost during the Coronavirus time, its international role,’’ said Anne Emery-Torracinta, premier of the canton, in comments to radio broadcaster RTS.
“We have a lot of experience with these kinds of meetings,’’ said local tourism director Adrien Genier in comments to SRF. “We’ll handle it.’’(dpa/NAN)
– May 26, 2021 @ 14:25 GMT
Tags: Geneva preparing for spotlight as Biden Putin summit date nears
