Biden-Putin Summit

Biden and Putin spoke as Russian troops amass near Ukraine, raising the specter of war.

• Russian relations with the US and Europe have rarely been more tense. That’s because Russian troops have been steadily amassing at the Ukraine border, now numbering around 100,000.
• What is Putin planning? No one knows for sure. But it’s certainly not the first time Putin has acted aggressively with regard to Ukraine.
• In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, and since then, Putin has fomented a seperatist conflict in Ukraine that has claimed some 13,000 lives.
• While American and European officials remain profoundly alarmed that an invasion may be imminent, it may also be the case that Putin is merely saber rattling.
• Putin has demanded the US and Europe guarantee NATO will not expand eastward into Ukraine and other nations that border Russia. Putin views NATO’s presence on Russia’s border as a threat.
• Many analysts believe that in the aftermath of the 2014 Crimea annexation, the US and Europe acted too softly on Putin. Now, **Biden clearly does not want to be seen as making the same error. **
• During the two hour talk on Tuesday, Biden threatened serious financial penalties that would hit the Russian economy hard should Putin invade.
• In our reading today, we explore the prospects of war, the state of Russian relations with the West, and examine what Putin’s endgame may be.