I saw the planned schedule of events for tomorrow's Biden-Putin meeting in Geneva tomorrow. 3 details stood out, all good news for Biden. THREAD 1/
First, Putin will arrive first. Biden second. Putin has a habit of showing up late for meetings (He made Obama wait 40 minutes in Los Cabos in 2012.) If Putin is late tomorrow, Biden won't be standing around awkwardly waiting. 2/
Second, there will be no joint press conference. Good. Biden does not need to give Putin a global stage to propagate disinformation or play whataboutism. Let him do that on his own with the Russian press. 3/
Third, Biden and Putin will first meet almost alone, but with a "notetaker" on each side, Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov. Good. The Biden administration needs a good record of the event, and Blinken knows cold almost all of the issues that might come up. 3/
This format means that Geneva 2021 will not look or feel like Helsinki 2018. (Trump did a disastrous joint press conference with Putin and had no notetaker in the room.) And that's a very good thing. Chalk up a win for Biden's protocol team! 4/ END THREAD

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More from @McFaul

16 Jun
I have some thoughts on this line up and the smaller meeting. THREAD 1/
First, that Lavrov is in the small meeting and not Ushakov is interesting. In the past, Ushakov was always there. Also not standard protocol for the Secretary of State to be the +1, but Blinken has a special relationship with Biden.
Second, striking that General Gerasimov is there. That is highly unusual. His US counterpart is not. That signals to me that strategic stability talks are at top of agenda. And don’t forget, Antonov was chief negotiator of New START treaty.
Read 12 tweets
15 Jun
"Biden is right to test whether Putin might embrace a more stable, predictable relationship with the United States." THREAD 1/
Should the Russian president opt instead to continue invading countries, mounting hacking and disinformation campaigns, and arresting innocent Russians and Americans, it will be clear that he, not Biden, is responsible for confrontation with the United States. 2/
Biden is also right to try to work with the Kremlin on a limited agenda of mutual interest, particularly on arms control. Even during tense moments of the Cold War, U.S. presidents saw the wisdom in cooperating with their Soviet counterparts to reduce the risk of nuclear war. 3/
Read 5 tweets
10 Jun
Putin always makes a big impression. THREAD 1/
I was there for Obama's first meeting with Putin in 2009.
I was there for Biden's first meeting with Putin in 2011. 3/
Read 4 tweets
2 Jun
"The Biden administration will also need to reform the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which has sustained considerable damage during the Trump era." THREAD 1/
"Washington should not seek to counter Russian propaganda with American propaganda. Rather, it should work to counter disinformation with real reporting from credible journalists in Russia, Ukraine, and other countries in the region." 2/
"To that end, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty should be spun out of the USAGM and made an independent organization, still funded by Congress but with its own board and a sturdier firewall separating it from the federal government." 3/
Read 4 tweets
13 May
It’s the last 3 weeks of my son’s high school basketball career, so I’ve been watching a lot of basketball lately and thinking about US-China relations while sitting in the stands. THREAD 1/
When my sons team plays with confidence, they often win. When they don’t play with confidence, they make mistakes, and often lose. 2/
The US needs to play with more confidence when competing against China. Yes, China is a formidable “team”. But better than the US? No. In this competition, we need to play with more confidence and stop believing that China is bound to overtake, let alone “defeat” us. 3/
Read 4 tweets
9 May
"In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: " THREAD 1/
"Do they wait for the Soviet bear’s intrusion and risk being sent to Siberia? Or do they reluctantly follow the wolves—murderous Nazi officers who have pledged to protect “pure-blood” Germans?" 2/
"The Martels are one of many families of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for more than a century." 3/
Read 7 tweets

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