(NewsNation) — President Biden and his team are already backing down from a confrontation with Vladimir Putin. Not a nuclear one, although we still don’t know how close we are to Armageddon, but a face-to-face confrontation.

The two men met in Geneva in June of last year and haven’t seen each other since. But they will both, plus Xi of China, be at the G20 summit in Indonesia next month.

We’ll be there as well to cover it.

This article from POLITICO is interesting reading: White House taking every step possible to avoid direct Biden-Putin encounter at G-20

“U.S. officials also are taking precautions to avoid even a hallway run-in or photo meeting between the two leaders,” POLITICO writes.

The question is why? Since when does an American president back down from anybody?

Does the Secretary of State not think his boss is up to it? Does White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain think Mr. Biden just can’t pull it off?

The former ambassador to Ukraine says President Biden doesn’t want to meet face to face with President Putin because he’s a killer, a war criminal. But the White House is working behind the scenes to schedule a meeting with Xi. He’s carrying out genocide against Muslims in northwest China.

The skepticism from administration officials might be well placed. The Saudi fist bump didn’t get us much; the crown prince cut oil production just before the midterms. Putin invaded Ukraine despite stern warnings from Mr. Biden in Geneva.

Take the juxtaposition to Trump at the G20, who literally shoved foreign leaders out of the way. Trump wanted to be in front for what’s called the “family photo.” The White House doesn’t control the family photo, so it’s likely we get Putin and Biden together.

Consider this: what if Mr. Biden said, “It’s either me or Putin?” Or what if he lead a walk out of world leaders from the family photo to show Putin that he truly is alone?

The Ayatollah of Iran and their president don’t get an invite to the G20, but a walk out on Putin would certainly send them a message.

This satellite picture shows an Iranian 747 delivering drones and long-range missiles to Russia. The New York Times reports members of the Iran Revolutionary Guard now train Russian drone operators near the front lines.

Russia and Iran continue to feed off each other; a friendship during the war in Syria is now a full-fledged alliance. Remember, President Biden says the war in Ukraine is the threat of our lifetime, and we could be near Armageddon.

Yet protests against the regime rage on in Iran. They want an end to stone age-esque religious laws and the morality police that arrest women at will.

The Biden Administration could help the protesters, thus destabilizing the Iranian regime, thus making it harder for them to help Putin. But so far, nada.

Israeli diplomat Abba Eban remarked after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, “The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

Sadly, that might now prove true for us.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author, and not of NewsNation.