Putin called the Geneva meeting as "constructive," and that both countries will begin consultations on cybersecurity and US and Russian ambassadors will return to their diplomatic posts.
After the less than four hours meeting, the presidents of the US and Russia have praised their talks in Geneva but have made little concrete progress at the first such meeting since 2018.
The two leaders covered an “extensive” amount of ground in their initial one-on-one meeting, which led to a shorter expanded bilateral meeting, according to a senior US administration official.
According to the US President Joe Biden while answering questions from reporters, disagreements were stated but not in a hyperbolic way, and he said Russia did not want a new Cold War.
President V. Putin of Russia said Mr Biden was an experienced statesman and the two "spoke the same language".
The talks lasted four hours, less time than was scheduled. Mr Biden said they did not need to spend more time talking and there was now a genuine prospect to improve relations with Russia.
The two sides agreed to begin a dialogue on nuclear arms control. They also said they would return ambassadors to each other's capitals - the envoys were mutually withdrawn for consultations in March, after the US accused Russia of meddling in the 2020 presidential election.
However, there was little sign of agreement on other issues, including cyber-security, Ukraine and the fate of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a penal colony.
Mr Biden said there would be "devastating consequences" for Russia if Navalny died in prison.
What did the leaders discuss?
Before the summit, both sides said relations were at rock bottom.
Mr Putin hinted at a possible deal on exchanging prisoners, saying he believed compromises could be found.
On cyber-attacks, Mr Putin brushed away accusations of Russian responsibility, saying that most cyber-attacks in Russia originated from the US.
Mr Biden said he told Mr Putin that critical infrastructure, such as water or energy, must be "off-limits" to hacking or other attacks.
The two sides differed sharply on human rights, including the right to protest.
Mr Putin dismissed US concerns about Alexei Navalny, who recently undertook a 24-day hunger strike.
He said Navalny ignored the law and knew that he would face imprisonment when he returned to Russia after having sought medical treatment in Germany. Navalny says he was poisoned with a nerve agent on Mr Putin's orders - an accusation Mr Putin denies.
He said Russia did not want disturbances on its territory comparable to the Capitol riots or the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mr Biden dismissed Mr Putin's comments about Black Lives Matter as "ridiculous", and said human rights would "always be on the table".
Asked why Russia would want to co-operate with the US, Mr Biden said it was "in a very, very difficult spot right now".
"They are being squeezed by China. They want desperately to remain a major power," he told reporters, shortly before leaving Geneva.
Putin described the Geneva meeting as "constructive," saying both countries will begin consultations on cybersecurity and US and Russian ambassadors will return to their diplomatic posts.
The US and Russia in a joint statement on Wednesday shortly after the summit between the countries’ two leaders, noting that “even in periods of tension,” the two nations share goals of “ensuring predictability in the strategic sphere, reducing the risk of armed conflicts and the threat of nuclear war."
"The recent extension of the New START Treaty exemplifies our commitment to nuclear arms control. Today, we reaffirm the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," the statement said.
"Consistent with these goals, the United States and Russia will embark together on an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue in the near future that will be deliberate and robust. Through this Dialogue, we seek to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures."
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