Biden and Putin have left Britain out in the cold

It would probably be wrong to say that Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin got on like a house on fire. But the results of the Geneva summit, which observed all the rules of Cold-War era summitry – from the venue to the formality of the arms-control and confidence-building agenda – far exceeded the deliberately doom-laden forecasts. In the space of around four hours at the Villa La Grange, the leaders of the United States and Russia effectively normalised relations that for the best part of four years had been bouncing around at rock-bottom, and dangerously so.

The Russian and American ambassadors are returning to their capitals, working groups are being set up, including on the sensitive matter of cyber-security (something that Donald Trump was excoriated in Washington for even trying to start) and the two Presidents are saying in their separate ways that their opposite number is someone they respect and can do business with.