Biden and Putin make little headway in virtual summit | First Thing

White House says US president voiced deep concerns' about Ukraine; plus, Steven Spielberg on reimagining West Side Story

Good morning.

Yesterday's virtual summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin made little apparent headway in defusing the crisis over Ukraine in the wake of a Russian troop buildup, and instead delegated officials from each country to stay in contact.

What did the US say about the meeting? The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said: The discussion between President Biden and President Putin was direct and straightforward. There was a lot of give and take, there was no finger-wagging. But the president was crystal clear about where the United States stands on all of these issues."

Was Merkel there? Yes, she was watching proceedings from the visitors' gallery. The outgoing chancellor received a standing ovation from almost all delegates in the last minutes of her tenure.

When will the new government take over? The new government is to be announced in parliament at 1.30pm CET today, after which Scholz and the ministers in his cabinet will swear their oaths.