To Russia with Love

To Russia with Love

Despite campaigning as a tough-on-Russia candidate, Biden has repeatedly rewarded Putin and his allies with economic and political victories. His weak leadership will have wide-ranging implications as enemies of the United States take notice.

May 26, 2021
To Russia with Love

Joe Biden continues to cave to Vladimir Putin, granting Russia significant geopolitical victories and emboldening our adversaries around the world. After paving the way for the completion of a Russian pipeline that splits our European allies and increases Russia’s influence in the region, Biden announced that he will reward Putin with a one-on-one meeting in Switzerland next month.

The summit will take place even though Putin continues to jail and brutalize his political opponents, most notably Alexi Navalny. It also follows Putin’s puppet in Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, using a fighter jet to force a passenger plane to land so he could arrest a political opponent. Media outlets are calling the summit a “win for Moscow.”

CNBC: Analysts say the summit, set to take place on June 16 in Geneva, will be presented as a win for Moscow. “The Russian state-owned media will spin the Putin-Biden summit in a way that emphasizes Russia’s great power status and its indispensable role in addressing various global challenges,” Andrius Tursa, Central and Eastern Europe advisor at Teneo Intelligence, told CNBC on Wednesday.”

The Biden-Harris administration’s weak approach to Putin represents a drastic change from the previous four years. During the 2020 campaign, Biden said “I will not hesitate to respond as president to impose substantial and lasting costs.” But after taking office, Biden continues to bend the knee to Putin.

Wall Street Journal: It’s impossible to know whether Messrs. Putin and Lukashenko were emboldened specifically by Mr. Biden’s recent lifting of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. That easing came as Mr. Putin imprisons his own vocal domestic opponent, Alexei Navalny.

Bottom Line: Despite campaigning as a tough-on-Russia candidate, Biden has repeatedly rewarded Putin and his allies with economic and political victories. His weak leadership will have wide-ranging implications as enemies of the United States take notice.