Biden: Putin ‘a worthy adversary’

US President Joe Biden on Monday assured his Nato allies that he would lay down "red lines" to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at their meeting today.  

"I'm not looking for conflict with Russia, but that we will respond if Russia continues its harmful activities," he said. Biden also called Putin "tough" and "a worthy adversary" ahead of their hotly anticipated meeting in Geneva today.

In the summit communique, the leaders told Russia that there would be no quick return to "business as usual".

Russia's military build-up and provocative behaviour on Nato's eastern frontier "increasingly threaten the security of the Euro-Atlantic area and contribute to instability along Nato borders and beyond," it added.