WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden was quickly thrown into a high-wire balancing act with Russia as he sought to sharpen the government’s stance against Vladimir Putin while maintaining room for diplomacy in a post-Donald Trump era.
The relationship will certainly be different from that which Putin enjoyed with Trump, who fell in love with the Russian leader and sought his approval, and doubted Russian interference in the 2016 election and involvement in a massive heel last year. Despite this conciliatory approach, its administration has shown a hard line against Moscow and imposed sanctions on the country, Russian companies and business leaders for issues ranging from Ukraine to energy supply and attacks on dissidents.
Unlike his immediate predecessors, Biden did not show hope for a ‘recovery’ in relations with Russia, but rather indicated that he wanted to manage the differences with the former enemy of the Cold War without necessarily resolving them or to improve the tires. And with a heavy domestic agenda and looming decisions over Iran and China, a direct confrontation with Russia is not something he wants.
When Biden speaks to Putin for the first time, he is expected to call Putin for the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny and the weekend’s repression of his supporters, raising charges that Russian security services are behind the recent massive cyber-security breach, and allegations that Russia compensates the Taliban for killing US troops in Afghanistan.
At the same time, Biden must be mindful of his own proposal to extend the last remaining arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, which is due to expire in early February, for five years.
Biden told reporters on Monday that he had not yet decided to respond to the Navalny situation, but that he had expressed hope that the US and Russia could work together in areas where both benefit.
“I think we can both act in the mutual self-interest of our countries as a New START agreement and make it clear to Russia that we are very concerned about their behavior, whether it is Navalny, whether it is SolarWinds or reports of bounties on heads. “Americans in Afghanistan,” Biden said.
According to the White House, Biden has already ordered the intelligence community to launch a review of each of these issues, which said Friday that the U.S. proposal to expand New START will go hand in hand with the other issues.
This approach has been endorsed by some former US diplomats dealing with Russia and looks forward to how Biden’s team, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his nominee for the no. 3 at the State Department, Victoria Nuland, the contours of Russia’s policy.
Nuland in particular is scolded by Putin and his associates for her support of pro-Western politicians in Ukraine and kept the Europe portfolio at the State Department during President Barack Obama’s second term. She and Sullivan are said to be sharing opinions on how to deal with Moscow, while strictly dealing with human rights and Russia’s intentions in Eastern and Central Europe, while keeping an open channel for the Kremlin on other matters.
But their starting position is complicated, they say, especially in light of Putin’s experience in dealing with Trump, who regularly undermines the hawkish stance of his own government over Russia by privately trying to tie up the Russian leader.
“It’s difficult, but it’s feasible,” said Daniel Fried, a U.S. ambassador to Poland and assistant secretary of state for European affairs in the George W. Bush administration. “They will have to find out right away, but it’s important to pursue New START without hesitation and drive back the blame on the Navalny arrest and other issues.”
“They should do both and not let Putin tell them he will not accept a NEW START unless they abandon Navalny, SolarWinds or Afghanistan,” said Fried, who is now with the Atlantic Council. “You have to push back and you can not allow Putin to determine the terms.”
Putin can be cautious, however, given his precarious domestic position in the wake of the pro-Navalny protests that took place in more than 100 cities over the weekend.
Biden’s team has already reacted strongly over the weekend to the repression of Navalny supporters in which more than 3,700 people were arrested during the protests across Russia, including more than 1,400 in Moscow.
Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and Putin’s fiercest critic, was arrested on January 17 when he returned from Germany to Russia, where he spent nearly five months recovering from the poisoning of the nerve agent he blamed. Kremlin blames. Russian authorities deny the allegations.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki and State Department spokesman Ned Price called for the immediate and unconditional release of Navalny, as well as those detained in the crackdown.