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This is VOA News. Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton. U.S. President Joe Biden has promised that the United States will stand with its European allies against Russia. This comes ahead of the president's first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Biden is set to leave Wednesday for Europe where he will attend summits of both G7 and NATO as well as hold a meeting with Putin in Geneva on June 16th. The summit comes amid the biggest crisis in ties between the two countries in years. There are tensions over hacking allegations, human rights and claims of election meddling, and in an op-ed for The Washington Post published on Saturday, Biden promised to shore up Washington's democratic alliances in the face of multiple crises and mounting threats from Moscow. Since taking office in January, Biden has ramped up pressure on the Kremlin. His comments likening Putin to a "killer" were met with fierce criticism in Moscow. But both leaders have expressed hopes that relations can improve. Putin said Friday he expects a "positive" result from the talks.
The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, along with a high-level delegation, met Sunday with leaders in Kabul to discuss bilateral cooperation after U.S. and coalition troops leave the country by a September 11 deadline. The discussions come as Taliban insurgents have intensified battlefield attacks against government forces, capturing nine Afghan districts, including six in the past week, since the foreign military withdrawal began a month ago. Hundreds of combatants on both sides and Afghan civilians have been killed. A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Sunday the talks with Khalilzad's team focused on defense, economy and humanitarian assistance. This is VOA News.
