 The United States President Joe Biden said his Wednesday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be critical and that he would offer to Moscow to cooperate on areas of common interest if the Kremlin so chooses. Biden characterised Putin as an adversary or someone who could become an adversary as bright and tough. Speaking at a news conference after a NATO summit in Brussels, Biden said China and Russia were trying to split the transatlantic alliance and that while he was not seeking conflict with Russia, NATO would respond if Moscow continued its harmful activities. I'm going to make clear to President Putin that there are areas where we can cooperate if he chooses and if he chooses not to cooperate and acts in a way that he has in the past relative to cybersecurity and some other activities, then we will respond. We will respond in kind. There need not be, we should decide where it's in our mutual interest and the interest of the world to cooperate and see if we can do that and the areas where we don't agree make it clear what the red lines are. I have met with him. He's bright, he's tough and I have found that he is a, as they say, when he used to play ball a worthy adversary.