Putin prepares for White House shift

Flashpoints projected as Biden administration takes a tougher foreign policy stance on Russia

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s uncharacteristically unhurried effort to congratulate Joe Biden on his election victory reflects the challenges ahead for US-Russia relations. The president-elect, who worked with Russia during the Cold War on the Senate foreign relations committee and as vice president under President Barack Obama, is expected to be much firmer with Putin than his predecessor. During his election campaign, Biden called Russia an ‘opponent’ as well as the ‘biggest threat’ to the security of the US. Unlike Trump, who refused to criticise either Putin or Russian behaviour despite Congress applying sanctions on Russian entities and individuals, Biden’s position will align more