White House Press Secretary Jenn Psaki, 42, announced before during her daily press briefing that 78-year-old President Joe Biden had a phone call with 68-year-old Russian President Vlaidimir Putin. Psaki said Biden would address “matters of concern,” including the recent alleged hacks of SolarWinds network management software by Russian agents, used by the military and other government agencies, something that compromised U.S. national security. Biden “called . . . President Putin this afternoon with the intention of discussing our willingness to ext New START for five years and also to reaffirm strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression,” Psaki said. Sounding all over the map, Biden wanted to break the ice with Putin who, under his watch as Vice President in the Obama administration, invaded Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
Biden and 59-year-old former President Barack Obama did nothing when Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014, seizing the territory to protest the pro-Western coup d’etat that took place Feb. 22 in Kiev, booting out 70-year-old Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yahukovych. While there’s nothing wrong with discussing a five-year extension of the START treaty [Strategic Arms Reduction Talks], dredging up past history does nothing to improve U.S.-Russian relations. Putin recalls well Dec. 31, 2016 when Obama booted out 35 Russian diplomats from Washington for alleged meddling in the 2016 election, sending U.S.-Russian relations to Cold War lows. Whether admitted to or not, Biden was an integral part of Obama’s decision to get tough with the Kremlin, forcing Trump and his 62-year-old former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to try to mend fences during the transition.
Biden was furious with Flynn, just like he was when he and Obama fired Flynn Aug. 7, 2014 from serving as Director of Defense Intelligence Agency, for interfering with Obama and Biden’s Kremlin policy. Flynn did nothing wrong talking with 70-year-old former Russian Amb. Sergey Kislyak. Biden was so furious with Flynn mending fences with Kislyak, he urged Obama to charge Flynn with violating the 1799 Logan Act, an arcane U.S. law preventing private citizens from conducting U.S. foreign policy. How absurd that Biden would push to have Flynn investigated for doing his job as Trump’s National Security Adviser. For days after Trump was inaugurated Jan. 24, 2017, Obama and Biden ordered former FBI Director James Comey to investigate Flynn for lying to federal agents about his contacts with Moscow. Flynn had no contacts with Moscow other than talking a couple of times to Kislyak.
Biden questioned Putin about alleged Kremlin policy of paying bounties to Afghan Taliban and other terrorist groups to attack U.S. troops. Biden also wanted to Putin to respond to the SolarWinds hack that inserted malware into their popular network management program used the U.S. military and other government agencies, including Homeland Security. “His intention was also to make clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of our national interest in response to malign actions by Russia,” Psaki said, reflecting the new sheriff on the block. Democrats and the U.S. media accused former President Donald Trump with placating Putin, something he was accused of by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton’s infamous “Steele Dossier,” paid opposition research to discredit his 2016 campaign, accused Trump of being a Russian asset. So from getting along with Russia to threatening confrontation, U.S. Russian policy has swung under Biden 180 degrees
Psaki also said Joe brought up to Putin the Jan. 18 arrest of 44-year-old pro-Democracy activist Alexi Navalny, prompting protests around Russia. Putin doesn’t like when foreign leaders interfere in Russian internal affair, something he considers outside interference. “His [Biden] intention was also to make clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of our national interests in response to malign actions by Russia,” Psaki said, signaling a deep frost over U.S.-Russian relations. Instead of looking for ice-breakers, Biden cemented the deep freeze between the U.S. and Russia, when, in reality, the U.S. isn’t willing to confront Russia for what Psaki calls “malign” activities. Psaki has no proof that Russian hackers infiltrated SolarWinds program or, for that matter, meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Putin knows that Obama and Biden did nothing when he invaded Crimea March 1, 2014.
Getting off on the wrong foot, if Psaki is correct, Biden seemed to accuse Putin of everything but the kitchen sink in his first phone call as commander-in-chief. Biden’s been around U.S. foreign policy for most of his Senate career. He was deliberately tapped as Obama’s VP for his foreign policy experience. But confronting Putin in their first phone call indicates that U.S.-Russian relations won’t improve anytime soon. Anyone with foreign policy background knows that linkage is important dealing with major threats to U.S. foreign policy. Trump tried during his four years to improve links with U.S. adversaries, putting more distance with confrontation. Biden’s “get tough” approach only makes things worse, just like they were with the Obama administration with U.S.-Russian relations hit Cold War lows. U.S. media outlets seem happy with Biden’s “get tough” stand toward Russia.
