US-Russia meeting on 16 June 2021: a security challenge for the Geneva police and its partners
Geneva Police Communiqué - 11 June, 2021
The meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 16, 2021 between Mr. Joe Biden, President of the United States of America, and his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, represents an important security challenge for the Geneva Police and its partners. It will also be a new opportunity to demonstrate their skills. Guaranteeing the smooth running of this major international summit, minimizing the impact on the population, and ensuring and maintaining security services for the benefit of the population are the main missions that the police will have to assume. Thanks to the indispensable help and the perfect collaboration and coordination with the security partners, these missions will be honoured.
On many occasions, Geneva has hosted the arrival of Heads of State as well as Ministers within the framework of international meetings or conferences. The meeting of June 16, 2021 will be historic, as were those of November 1985 between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, of November 1990 between George Bush and Hafez El-Assad, and of January 1994 and March 2000 between Bill Clinton and Hafez El-Assad. The experience that the Geneva police and its partners have acquired is necessarily valuable, even if security imperatives and threats evolve. The means deployed in 1985 were not the same as those that will be used for the June 16 event.
Cooperation and coordination
Beyond the experience of similar events, the key to the success of this type of operation lies in the ability to bring together all the security partners so that the missions of each are perfectly coordinated.
The Geneva police once again noted the ability of its partners to respond within a short time frame. It was impossible to set up security arrangements of this level without the support of the Federal Office of Police (fedpol), impossible to guarantee the security of the airspace without the presence of the army, and impossible to maintain all the security services for the benefit of the population without the reinforcements of the other cantonal police forces and without the integration in this operation of our partners in Geneva, namely the municipal police forces and the personnel of the Civil Protection (PCI)
The deadlines were short and the stakes were high, but everything will be put in place on the day of the event to ensure that the meeting can be held without any problems and to minimize the impact on the daily life of the population.
Security arrangements
The police must ensure security at several sites. They must also guarantee the security of the delegations during their travels. A meeting of Heads of State such as the one of June 16 implies important means of security. Nevertheless, the police always keep in mind the impact that their arrangements will have on the population. Consequently, the INFO-POLICE line 0800 902 456 will be open from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 June 2021, from 9am to 5pm, to answer questions related to mobility.
You can also consult the details of the police stations that provide services to the public.
The plans give the details of the closed areas, i.e. the area around the Geneva harbour on June 16, 2021 from 4am to midnight, as mentioned in the State Council's decree of June 9, 2021.
See the map with the traffic restrictions
In addition, there is a zone located around the Intercontinental Hotel where it will not be possible to pass from June 15 at 6am to June 17 at 6am.
As communicated on Wednesday, June 9, the traffic restrictions are important and the whole population is strongly invited to limit its movements, to privilege teleworking, not to use its private vehicles, except for imperatives, and to use public transport.
The Geneva police and its partners will be present in large numbers to ensure the security of this event and of course that of the entire population. The police would like to thank the population for its understanding and its precious collaboration.