乔·拜登总统与奥巴马总统举行高风险峰会弗拉基米尔·普京周三，两位领导人一致认为美俄关系处于“低谷”。
这两人将在日内瓦一座18世纪的瑞士别墅内对峙，别墅位于格兰奇公园中央的一个湖边。拜登是第五位与普京坐在一起的美国总统，他曾在2016年与普京交谈并见过面。
拜登称普京为“杀手”，并说他在没有“灵魂”之前就告诉过他，周一，拜登告诉美国广播公司新闻部首席白宫记者塞西莉亚·维加(Cecilia Vega)，他还回忆说这位俄罗斯领导人“聪明”且“强硬”。
“我发现他是一个——就像他们说的，当你过去打球的时候——一个值得尊敬的对手，”他说。
大多数美国人相信乔·拜登能够代表美国与外国同行进行谈判
一;一个美国广播公司新闻/益普索民意调查我发现大多数美国公众对拜登有很大或很大的信任，可以代表美国与其他世界领导人谈判。
这一信任度(52%)大致与总统的总体支持率(平均为53%)一致五点三十八分的追踪器，大约相当于美国人对拜登与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京具体谈判的信任程度。尽管如此，十分之三的美国人，包括70%的共和党人，表示他们根本不信任拜登与外国同行进行谈判，约十分之二(18%)的美国人表示他们只信任总统。
根据益普索与美国广播公司新闻部(ABC News)合作使用益普索知识面板(Ipsos' KnowledgePanel)进行的民意调查，略多于一半的人(57%)表示，他们对总统在世界事务中做正确的事情有信心，而约十分之四(42%)的人对拜登这样做没有太多或任何信心。
与对其前任、前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的信任和信心水平相比，拜登的成绩值得注意，如果考虑到美国目前的党派分歧水平，这一点就更值得注意了。
在两位领导人高风险峰会之前，看看日内瓦周围:视频
大卫·惠兰谈到他被关押在俄罗斯劳改营的兄弟
普京周五表示，他愿意讨论两名美国海军陆战队老兵特雷弗·里德(Trevor Reed)和保罗·惠兰(Paul Whelan)之间关于俄罗斯人被关押在美国的潜在“囚犯交换”问题。
俄罗斯官员表示，他们愿意用里德和惠兰交换两名被关押在美国的俄罗斯人:维克托·布特——世界上最臭名昭著的军火商之一，被称为“死亡商人”——还有康斯坦丁·雅罗申科，一名因走私毒品被判长期监禁的飞行员。
大卫·惠兰(David Whelan)周二告诉美国广播公司新闻直播(ABC News Live Prime)主播林西·戴维斯(Linsey Davis)，他在俄罗斯一个劳动营制造服装的兄弟是人质，很难知道这种情况何时会结束。
“我总是希望他会被释放，但我不知道时间表是什么，”大卫·惠兰说。“拜登政府对保罗的案件直言不讳，我们作为一个家庭对此表示赞赏。它给了我们希望，也给了他希望。”
“但他仍然是一名人质，还没有证据表明俄罗斯人愿意用任何东西来交换他，”大卫·惠兰继续说道。"他们上周说——俄罗斯政府说了——他们不会考虑用保罗来交换."
惠兰的家人周一发布了他的一条音频消息，该消息是在他被关押的俄罗斯中部的战俘营录制的。在信中，他呼吁拜登帮助释放他。
“请带我回家，回到属于我的家和我的狗弗洛拉身边。“谢谢总统先生，感谢您承诺让我回家，并尽快结束这一悲惨的人质事件，”惠兰在他的家人说的5月30日制作的录音中说。
拜登将于周三与普京举行高风险峰会:视频
在周三瑞士峰会之前，两位领导人都认为这是美俄关系的“低谷”
Biden-Putin summit live updates: 'I'm always ready,' Biden says
President Joe Biden holds a high-stakes summit with PresidentVladimir Putinon Wednesday at what the leaders agree is a "low point" in the U.S.-Russia relationship.
The two men will face off inside an 18th-century Swiss villa in Geneva, situated alongside a lake in the middle of the Parc de la Grange. The fifth American president to sit down with Putin, Biden has spoken with him and met him before, in 2016.
Having called Putin a "killer" and saying he's told him before he has no "soul," Biden told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega on Monday that he also recalled the Russian leader as being "bright" and "tough."
"And I have found that he is a -- as they say, when you used to play ball -- a worthy adversary," he said.
Majority of Americans trust Joe Biden to negotiate on US behalf with foreign counterparts: POLL
AnABC News/Ipsos pollfound a majority of the American public has a great deal or good amount of trust in Biden to negotiate on the country's behalf with other world leaders.
That level of trust -- 52% -- roughly tracks the president's overall approval rating, which averages 53%, according toFiveThirtyEight's tracker, and is about equal to the level of trust Americans have in Biden to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin specifically. Still, 3 in 10 Americans, including 70% of Republicans, say they do not trust Biden at all to negotiate with his foreign counterparts, and about 2 in 10 (18%) Americans say they trust the president just some.
A slightly larger majority (57%) say they have confidence in the president to do the right thing regarding world affairs, while about 4 in 10 (42%) do not have much or any confidence in Biden to do so, according to the poll, which was conducted by Ipsos in partnership with ABC News using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel.
Compared to the level of trust and confidence in his predecessor, former PresidentDonald Trump, at roughly the same point in his administration, Biden's marks are noteworthy and even more so when factoring in the current level of partisan division in the United States.
A look around Geneva ahead of high-stakes summit between 2 leaders: VIDEO
David Whelan talks about his brother who is being held in Russian labor camp
Putin indicated on Friday that he'd be willing to talk about a potential "prisoner swap" between two U.S. Marine veterans, Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan, for Russians being held in the U.S.
Russian officials have indicated they would like to trade Reed and Whelan for two Russians held in the U.S.: Viktor Bout -- one of the world's most notorious arms dealers and dubbed "the Merchant of Death" — and also Konstantin Yaroshenko, a pilot currently serving a lengthy jail sentence for a drug smuggling conviction.
David Whelan told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis on Tuesday that his brother, who is manufacturing clothes in a Russian labor camp, is a hostage and that it's difficult to know when that might come to an end.
"I'm always hopeful that he'll be released, but I don't have any idea what the timeline might be," David Whelan said. "The Biden administration has been very outspoken about Paul's case and we've appreciated that as a family. It's given us hope and it's given him hope."
"But he's still a hostage and there's no evidence yet that the Russians are willing to exchange in any exchange for him," David Whelan continued. "They said last week -- the Russian government did — that they would not consider Paul for exchange."
Whelan's family released an audio message from him on Monday recorded from the prison camp in central Russia where he is held. In it, he appealed to Biden to help free him.
"Please bring me home to my family and my dog Flora where I belong. Thank you, Mr. President, for your commitment to returning me home and bringing this deplorable hostage situation to an expedient conclusion," Whelan said in the recording that his family said was made on May 30.
Biden to hold high-stakes summit with Putin on Wednesday: VIDEO
Ahead of Wednesday's summit in Switzerland, both leaders agreed that it is a "low point" between the U.S. and Russia relationship
