Putin surprisingly arrives on time for meeting with Biden


President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have officially commenced their summit in Geneva — and, surprisingly, Putin was actually on time for it.
Putin arrived "almost exactly on time" for his meeting with Biden at 1:04 p.m. local time in Geneva on Wednesday, The Washington Post reports. The timing caught pundits' attention given that, as former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul noted, Putin "has a habit of showing up late for meetings."
The Russian president, for example, was 45 minutes late when he met with former President Donald Trump in Helsinki in 2018, and he was also three hours late for a meeting with then-Secretary of State John Kerry in 2013 and over four hours late for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2014, the Post reports.
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ABC News' Jonathan Karl took note of the timing of Putin's arrival on Wednesday, explaining, "I can't tell you how many events between the Americans and the Russians that I've gone to where Putin has kept the Americans waiting. It's a power play." But Karl pointed to Putin arriving on time for this summit as "one indication" that he "wants to turn the temperature down on this conflict."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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