Biden and Putin

HOW will President Joe Biden handle “Vladimir the Poisoner”? That’s what Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called Vladimir Putin last week, shortly before being hauled away to begin serving a prison term for concocted allegations that he violated probation requirements. Navalny has good cause to slap that sobriquet on the Russian president. Navalny was poisoned in a nerve agent attack last summer and nearly died. All signs point to the assassination attempt coming straight from the pages of Putin’s playbook.

Forging an effective, firm policy toward Putin’s Kremlin undoubtedly will be one of Biden’s biggest foreign policy challenges. His predecessor, Donald Trump, proved to be decisively outmatched by Putin. At times, Trump appeared to swoon over the way the Russian leader controlled everything in his country — his people, the media — with an iron fist.

It will be incumbent on Biden’s team to quickly lay out red lines for the Kremlin that carry consequences if crossed. Biden has already asked his new director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, for a comprehensive intelligence assessment on Russian cyberattacks on the federal government, Kremlin interference in the 2020 elections, Russian intelligenceengineered bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan and the attempt on Navalny’s life.

Rather than opting for a reset with Russia, as other presidents (including his old boss, Barack Obama) have done in the past, Biden appears to be readying a tougher posture towards Putin.