Biden and Putin to meet in Switzerland in mid-June with US-Russia tensions at a historic high

• Biden and Putin are set to meet in Switzerland on June 16.
• US-Russia relations are at their lowest point in decades.
• In April, Biden proposed holding a summit with Putin to discuss issues fueling the tensions.

President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are officially scheduled to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 16, the White House announced Tuesday.

The two world leaders will "discuss the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship," according to a White House statement.

The Kremlin in a statement on the meeting said Biden and Putin will discuss "the current state and prospects of the Russian-US relations, strategic stability issues and the acute problems on the international agenda, including interaction in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and settlement of regional conflicts," per the Associated Press.

The meeting will come during Biden's first trip abroad as president, and with US-Russia tensions at the highest level seen since the Cold War.

The contentious dynamic has been driven by an array of factors, including Putin's unilateral annexation of Crimea in 2014, the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine involving Kremlin-backed rebels, Russian interference in US elections, the SolarWinds hack, and the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

With the US and Russia increasingly at odds over a range of major geopolitical issues, Biden in mid-April proposed holding a summit with Putin in a third country. The offer came as Russia built up a massive number of troops along Ukraine's borders, sparking fears of a potential invasion.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday told reporters that she expects Biden and Putin to discuss arms control following the extension of the New START Treaty, US support for Ukrainian sovereignty, and the president's concerns over recent events in Belarus. Biden on Monday condemned the Belarusian government for diverting a commercial flight and forcing it to land in Minsk. After the forced landing, authorities arrested Roman Protasevich, a prominent dissident who's been critical of Belarus's authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko - an ally of Putin's.

"We don't expect everything to be solved at the end of this meeting, but we think that it is in our interest to have the meeting," Psaki said at Tuesday's briefing, stating that the US doesn't "meet with people only when we agree." Psaki presented the planned meeting as an opportunity to raise concerns and "move toward a more stable and predictable relationship with the Russian government."

Biden will also travel to Cornwall, England, from June 11 to 13 for a G7 summit. After that, the president will head to Brussels for a NATO summit and meetings with EU leaders.

"This trip will highlight his commitment to restoring our alliances, revitalizing the Transatlantic relationship, and working in close cooperation with our allies and multilateral partners to address global challenges and better secure America's interests," Psaki said in a statement in April.