US-Russia showdown looms as top diplomats meet in Iceland

Blinken and Lavrov to talk in Iceland while Washington’s ties with Moscow are under pressure over myriad issues.

Top diplomats from the United States and Russia are set to square off this week in Iceland for their first face-to-face encounter that comes as ties between the nations deteriorated sharply in recent months. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia’s longtime Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov plan to talk Wednesday on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, a city with a deep history in US-Russian relations. Even before the talks – which are ostensibly to prepare for a summit between President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin next month – the two diplomats laid down near diametrically opposed positions for the meeting, previewing what is likely to be a difficult and contentious exchange.