right now on "america this morning." breaking news the former u.s. marine detained in russia. releasing a newgeneva. we'll pause while the rest of the network joins us. >> announcer: this is abc news special report. the biden/putin summit. now reporting from geneva, switzerland, david muir. >> good morning. we're coming on the air from geneva this morning as the world now watches this high stakes summit between president biden and russian president vladimir putin. the summit just about to get under way. it's a high stakes meeting. we just saw the motorcade.

president putin set to arrive moments from now. this is the first meeting between biden and russian president putin. it will be held not far from where i am this morning, with views of lake geneva. a discrete venue. it's called parc de la grange. it includes the villa la grange. president biden said we seek to restore stability in the u.s. with its relationship with russia. the president said about putin, i'll let him know what i want him to know. he comes to this summit after the g7 summit and the nato summit. biden will have the wind at his back. this is a united front this

morning. this is historic. it will happen just a short time from now. you can see the global presence in geneva. here on lake geneva, not only do you see the tour boats, but you also see the heavy security presence. boats with patrols on board. closely watched back home in the u.s., but cameras from all over the globe trained on their every word. most everything here will be scrutinized. as you imagine, security extremely tight. they will hold the summit not far from where people gather on the streets of geneva, at that public park. we have chief white house correspondent cecilia vega just outside the villa this morning. cecelia, you had a chance to see where they'll be meeting. >> reporter: david, it is a few feet away from me. good morning to you. it is a fascinating scene that is playing out here on this

villa. the meeting site, security, as you mentioned, extremely high. we, the media, the american press corps, has been swept a few times by security. it's the neutral swiss hosting the delegation. the american media being kept separate from the russian media. we were able to see the site. we had a little interaction with the russian media. they took their cameras out and they were filming us here. we're a few minutes away from the meeting, david. the white house told us there were no preconditions set. let me tell you about what we can expect. we're looking at four to five hours of meetings. they'll be broken into two sessions as far as we know. one smaller group, one larger group. the first session will be president biden, vladimir putin, secretary of state antony

blinken and his russian counter part. in the second session senior aides will be brought in. they'll be dealing with a number of issues, particularly cyber security, those threats back home that hit our infrastructure. president biden, he is walking in here with one goal. he wants to lay down the red lines for russia. he wants to have a conversation about how to stabilize the relationship going forward. he doesn't want conflict. he doesn't want a spectacle. that's why we won't be seeing that two presser with president biden and president putin. >> our white house correspondent cecilia vega at the seen at villa la grange. you can see president putin now arriving. we knew president putin would arrive first. you can hear reporters trying to shout questions.

they will walk in and, of course, we didn't expect him to answer questions. they are shaking hands. as cecelia mentioned, there will be a couple sets of meetings with president biden. the first will be with president putin and president biden and essentially their plus one. secretary blinken with president biden. also, the translators. you remember we covered the summit with former president trump in helsinki. a different picture. president trump and president putin spending a significant time alone in the room with only the translators presen that will notappen in this after the initial meetin there will be a secon meeting with larger groups. as cecelia said, this is

extraordinary, they'll meet four to five hours in geneva. they want some deliverables, that's the word bureaucrats use to say they hope to come out of the meeting with a couple areas they do agree. i want to bring in martha raddatz. martha, the central question going into this is what does success look like for the u.s.? >> david, they really lowered the bar in the last few days. anything they do, any progress they make, will be seen as a win. as as cecelia mentioned, there won't be a joint press conference. there's so much the u.s. wants, especially on the cyber security coursewi t pipeline the beef.

we also have two americans im imprisoned for years. we have paul whelan and trevor reed. trevor reed, vladimir putin said he was a trouble maker and a drunk. perhaps they can do a prisoner exchange. paul whelan, he's been charged with espionage. >> martha raddatz with us every step of the way. martha mentioning the two former u.s. marines being held in russian jails. russia has repeatedly floated the notion of a potential prisoner swap. the white house saying no

comment on that. we have no expectation of whether the u.s. expects any movement on that front. right after the summit, unlike the last one, there won't be a joint press conference. it will be president biden addressing reporters after president putin. they'll answer questions on their own. president biden saying he didn't want to be compared on the world stage to putin. he didn't want their body language to be read, who shook who hands. there were headlines immediately made when president trump took the side of vladimir putin on the world stage over his own u.s. intelligence community. i want to bring in rachel scott. she's one of the few american reporters who has been credentialed to be covering this summit with russian reporters. this was an extraordinary portrait she reported in when she was allowed to visit the villa. everything she did was documented by the russian reporters. rachel, can you hear me? >> reporter: i can.

many of the russian reporters are fascinated by the american presence here. when i film something on camera, they're filming me. some approached me asking what it feels like to be on the russian side of things and what my message is for president putin. right now russian reporters gathered outside. they watched as president putin walked up the red carpet. the silence leading up to the moment he arrived. just to the right of this building where president putin will be holding his first press conference before president biden takes questions from reporters. our day started early, 6:00 a.m. this morning. we were covid tested outside the hotel and that was where we spotted protesters. you can feel the tension. even though switzerland is a mutual party, protesters hanging a big banner.

it only took a few moments for police to show up by boat to bring the banner down. i watched as russian press aid rumbled. this is a high stakes meeting. we talked about what to expect from president biden. for president putin his goal is going to be to draw a red line with this new administration. >> rachel, i got a kick out of your editorial note before we came on the air. you mentioned it. russian reporters asked you for your message to president putin. i gather you said no comment. >> reporter: i said no comment, david. i was sur prprised by the camer they put in my face. many knew who i was, what outlet i was with. the president does face a lot of tough questions. he will be pressed by president biden, on everything from human rights to cyberattacks.

no shortage of questions to ask president putin. >> ever the objective reporter. our congressional reporter rachel scott with the russian reporters, a unique perspective. you look at the live pictures, we know that president biden will be arriving at any moment. he said he wants to come out of this summit with a stable relationship with russia. you're looking at the motorcade this morning. president biden landed in geneva yesterday. his team revealing very little about what will be discussed. it's expected president biden will talk about the recent russia-based attacks on the pipeline that affected gas prices and of course the attack on the u.s. meat supply. they're all expected to be cyberattacks based in russia. president biden will no question press president putin on whether

he'll continue to harbor cyberattacking criminals in nonsense when talking about harboring criminals. i want to bring in pierre thomas. pierre, when american presidents have met with russian leaders the talk has been about nuclear arms control. first and foremost the cyberattacks on not only the u.s. government, but now the cyberattacks on our infrastructure. so many americans saw it themselves. they saw it at the gas pumps and heard about it with the u.s. meat supplies. they heard about the hospitals being attacked took. >> reporter: david, it's an immediate threat. it's an ongoing threat.

it's been intensified. all these threats appear to be i am coming from russia. law enforce ment officials are watching very closely. what will the united states do if the attacks intensify? right now they're understanding these attacks are hitting people where they live. gas stations shut down, the meat supply in question. law enforcement want to know how can biden calibrate this without escalating this. a lot of law enforcement officials are telling me it could get more difficult if the russians make it more intensifying. how can biden press the russians but not escalate the situation, david? >> they have repeatedly said

that. thank you, pierre. the biden administration saying they don't want to escalate tensions, but they need to find a way to stop the aggressions. we continue to wait. president biden's motorcade arriving at villa la grange. you can see the motorcade behind me. you can see this is lake geneva right behind me. you can see some of the blue lights flashing on the cars. there you see the american flag. president biden going by as we speak. you cannot overstate the beauty of geneva. in fact, there's a boat with security on lake geneva traveling simultaneously across the water as president biden's m motorcade travels behind us. you can hear some of the reaction there on the streets here of geneva. a beautiful day, a beautiful setting. as we've been pointing out, the

topics are extraordinarily important and difficult. both leaders expected to address them. there you see the motorcade heading to villa la grange where president putin has met with the swiss president. president biden will have the same photo-op. they'll be brought inside where the three leaders will converse for a short period of time. we're told they'll all come out before the cameras. we'll see them, that united fronted. they're expected to take no questions again, but you never know. then they go into the first meeting. the first meeting will be the smaller meeting with president biden, secretary of state blinken and president putin and secretary of state's counter part on the russian side. they're expected to bring up the cyberattacks that affected every day life.

ukraine will absolutely come up, russia sending thousands of troops to the border again. they'll talk about nuclear weapons. president biden signaling in the first months of his presidency he reached out to president putin to continue the new stark tr treaty. they'll discuss nuclear weapons. on ukraine, terry moran with us this morning. terry, i know you spent time in crimea. t >> reporter: this is president putin once again reaching into those near neighbors of russia and trying to demonstrate that russia can dominate its sphere of influence. it's one of the prime russia objectives to push the west back from ukraine, from georgia, from those other countries bordering russia.

some want to be closer to europe. i was in crimea when the little green men, soldiers without any in signature nia on their uniforms. putin said they weren't russians and later gave them medals. it's the foreign policy he's been building for a long time. the troops were still there in april. he did withdraw some of them. this is a man who likes options. by having those troops on the ukrainian border he has options to excerpt power and make trouble, and once again to back off the u.s. including president biden who made clear at the nato summit ukraine has a right to join nato if it can get through the nato membership process. that infuriates putin. he wants russia to be a great power and that the west needs to

back off. that will be a subject today. >> terry moran with us all morning for our coverage of the biden/putin summit. terry, thank you. we see president biden's motorcade arriving now at villa la grange, that 18th century men mansion inside a public park. the carpet there waiting and so is the swiss president. we've noted right here in geneva, the american flag and the russian flag is up all over geneva. the two flags line the bridges here. they line the lakes. perhaps one of the great places on the globe to greet both leaders. they've been welcoming to both countries. president biden expected to get out of the car shortly. the question, martha, will he also take no questions?

i'm sure that's what his team advised him to do. >> david, you talk about the city and its history. i was here in 1985 with gorbachev and reagan, their first summit. it tells you how long we've had this difficult, complicated relationship with russia. but also how important personal relationships are between two leaders. it was the first for gorbachev and reagan. they ended up having a fine relationship. i know one of the things from people i talked to is that the russians go into the meeting believing americans don't like them.

>> shaking hands with the swiss president. the questions there from what will you accomplish with putin to how are you feeling. the president not taking the bait on the questions. he's expected to go inside where he'll meet president putin behind closed doors. then all three are expected to come out for the very expected photo-op. martha, personal relationships here, president biden has famously said -- he wrote in his memoir he met with president putin. they have a history here. they met when he was vice president ten years ago. he said he looked into vladimir putin's eyes and he said to him i don't think you have a soul. he said that putin responded, i

think we have an understanding. president putin was asked about this in recent days. he laughed it off and said i don't remember that, but biden has a good memory. >> i bet you putin remembers that as well. those personal relationships are important. i look back, obviously helsinki and president trump wanted a great relationship with putin, in spite of the intelligence on putin. it really didn't work because what the russians had done was so serious and hacking. it was so serious that trump really couldn't have that relationship. that relationship didn't get him anywhere. look at kim jong-un. we were there at those summits. at one of those summits personal relationships are important but they're not everything. americans want to see actions and where they can go forward from this i li tseeting -- we

heard flattery this week. he called him a worthy adversary, talked about how he was bright, joe biden talking about vladimir putin. you want that mix. you want to be tough, but you want to listen and have personal respect. understand your differences and try to move forward. >> very astute to observe the change in rhetoric. jon karl also with us, our chief washington correspondent. jon, as martha alluded to, you heard this week president biden telling cecilia vega that he considers putin a worthy adversary. he considers him bright. vladimir putin said biden is an experienced politician, he's smart. he also said that former president trump is an extraordinary individual who didn't come from politics and whether you agree with that or not, putin said, he should be respected. >> reporter: he also said, putin did of trump in cam o compariso

biden is less impulsive. the bottom line is although the rhetoric was warm, between putin and trump, they had a chemistry. the view from russia is that trump never delivered on a better relationship with russia. i thought the notion of biden coming out and calling putin a worthy adversary was very significant, especially when you consider that when biden was vice president and obama was president, obama referred to -- there they are. obama referred to putin and russia as a regional power.

[speaking foreign language] >> that's the swiss president guy parmelin. [speaking foreign language] >> on behalf of the swiss government, i would like to welcome you to the city of

peace, geneva. this is a great honor for switzerland. accordance with its tradition of good offices, promote dialogue and mutual understanding. dear presidents, i wish you fruitful work, fruitful dialogue for the benefit of your countries and the entire world. i wish you every success. good-bye. >> mr. president of the russian federation, mr. president of the united states. on behalf of the swiss government i would like to welco welcome you to geneva, the city of peace. it is an honor and a pleasure for switzerland to host you here for this summit and, in accordance with its tradition of good offices, promote dialogue and mutual understanding. i wish you both a fruitful dialogue in the interest of both your countries and the world. best wishes and good-bye.

>> there it is, the hand shake the world is now documenting. a simple wave from both leaders. reporters from all over the world assembled along with our cecilia vega, just outside the villa. shouting their questions, as we knew they would. not expecting until after both these meetings. first a smaller meeting with president biden and president putin, secretary of state blinken and of course the interpreters. after that meeting, there will be a larger meeting with larger delegations from both countries. we're expecting in a moment we'll have images from inside the initial meeting. we'll bring that to you as soon as we get it. both sides have indicated in recent days, as we were talking about, the semantics have changed, the rhetoric has

changed. they've become more positive talking about one another. both sides said they want to improve the relationship. i want to bring in our senior white house correspondent mary bruce back in washington. i'm curious what this looks like these last few days, this eighth day of president biden's trip. mary, as you know, republicans on the hill have questioned whether or not president biden should be giving this moment to president putin, this moment on the world stage so close to those cyberattacks on our infrastructure. >> reporter: david, critics say what we saw, that hand shake, these photographs, this images going around the world, this is what putin wanted. the president's republican citics say in having this meeting biden is giving putin a win. he wants this kind of respect from the west. he wants this kind of global attention. we've seen the white house and the president push back on that fiercely saying they're meeting

because of their differences not in spite of them. the white house says what they hope to achieve can only happen through this kind of face-to-face personal diplomacy. for president biden to be able to look putin in the eye and say this is what america stands for and this is what will and will not be tolerated. to make it clear he's not going to trust putin at his word as we saw with the former administration. they say all that makes this worth doing. even though there may not be any sweeping announcements about this, the question is whether they can come together on a new framework and stop that downward spiral that's led to this low point, david. >> mary bruce watching this from washington. these talks are expected to run four to five hours today. asked if he's ready, president biden responding i'm always ready. we heard about some of the questions on capitol hill about whether or not president biden should be going into this summit, at least this early into

his administration. martha, i know you interviewed secretary of state blinken in the last couple days and he said we're not meeting in spite of these cyberattacks, we're meeting because of them. >> that was the point of all this, that you have to have a face-to-face. you can't really make any progress unless you at some point have a face-to-face with your adversary. now, you can imagine that when they are in there that vladimir putin will have a list of grievances as well. i've talked to people in the room with him before. they say he has a list of three by five cards and he goes through them. joe biden will do the same thing. they go into this meeting with vladimir putin denying the hacking, denying that russia -- >> calling it nonsense. >> calling it nonsense. that starting point, it's sort of gentlemen start your engines. they're going to go at it with each other. then they will try, we open, to

find some sort of common common ground. but it is why these meetings are important. ant. i know president trump got a lot of heat forever going to see kim jong-un. that never worked out. they really didn't get anywhere, although they did get some hostages released. the initial meetings, you have to be face-to-face. >> that's where you see the difference between the public stance, as you mentioned, nonsense saying these hackers are not in russia. what are you talking about essentially has been putin's stance. the discussion inside that room will be crucial. >> inside that room. i was in kenny bunk port when george bush met with vladimir putin. they had a rapport going. again, it kind of fell apart because of the iraq war. they went fishing. george bush said the only person who caught a fish today was vladimir putin. you just set the