INVOLVED AND LEAD.
>> AND THIS THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS
ITS PREPARING TO ROLL OUT NEW
SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA JUST
DAYS AFTER THE FACE-TO-FACE
MEETING BETWEEN PRESIDENT BIDEN
AND VLADIMIR PUTIN.
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER JAKE
SULLIVAN ANNOUNCED THE SANCTIONS
YESTERDAY IN RESPONSE TO THE
POISONING OF TOP PUTIN CRITIC
ALEXEI NAVALNY IN AUGUST.
RUSSIA DENIED POISONING THE
OPPOSITION LEADER WHO IS NOW
SERVING A MORE THAN TWO YEAR
PRISON SENTENCE AND THE
PRESIDENT HAS WARNED THAT
NOTHING SHOULD HAPPEN TO NA
NAVALNY.
THERE IS NEW REACTION IN RUSSIA
TO LAST WEEKS SUMMIT BETWEEN
BIDEN AND PUTIN.
AS "THE NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTS
THERES COMMENTARY IN MOSCOW TO
PRAISE OF PUTIN.
THE PIECE SUGGESTS THAT RUSSIAN
EXPERTS SEE BIDEN AS A, QUOTE,
EXPERIENCED LEADER, FOCUSED
CLEARLY ON HIS PRIORITIES SUCH
AS DOMESTIC AFFAIRS IN
COMPETITION WITH CHINA FOR WHOM
CONFRONTATION WITH RUSSIA IS NOT
AN END IN ITSELF.
ONE COMMENTATOR SAID, QUOTE,
BIDEN BELIEVE IT OR NOT, LOOKS
TO BE THE FIRST AMERICAN
PRESIDENT IN 30 KBREERYEARS WHO
PLAYING A LONG GAME.
THEY TOOK NOTICE OF THIS
DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE CURRENT
PRESIDENT AND HIS FORMER BOSS.
>> RUSSIA IS A REGIONAL POWER
THAT IS THREATENING SOME OF ITS
IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORS.
NOT OUT OF STRENGTH, BUT OUT OF
WEAKNESS.
>> PRESIDENT PUTIN AND I HAD
A -- SHARE A UNIQUE
RESPONSIBILITY.
TO MANAGE THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN TWO POWERFUL AND PROUD
COUNTRIES.
>> ALL RIGHT.
LETS BRING IN THE PROFESSOR OF
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AT THE
FLETCHER SCHOOL OF LAW AND
DIPLOMACY AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY,
DANIEL DRESSNER.
ILL ECHO WHAT I THINK PRESIDENT
BIDEN SAID AFTER THIS MEETING
LAST WEEK AND THAT IS THAT THE
PROOF WILL BE IN THE PUDDING.
ITS NOT HOW THE MEETING WENT
ITS HOW RUSSIA BEHAVES IN THE
WEEKS AND MONTHS AHEAD AND HOW
AMERICA RESPONDS IF THEY DONT
FOLLOW SUIT WITH WHAT PRESIDENT
BIDEN LAID ON THE TABLE DURING
THE MEETING.
>> DO THEY HAVE INCENTIVE?
WHATS THE INCENTIVE FOR PUTIN
TO STOP DOING WHAT HES BEEN
DOING THE PAST 20 YEARS?
DAN, IM CURIOUS TO WHAT YOUR
REACTION IS TO HOW PRO-PUTIN
COMMENTATORS HAVE RESPONDED AND
ALSO JUST THE AFTERMATH OF THE
SUMMIT WHERE THE ONE THING THAT
FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSTS NOT ONLY
IN RUSSIA BUT ACROSS THE WORLD
SEEM TO TAKE NOTE OF IS THAT YOU
DO HAVE MORE STABILITY.
THE POSSIBILITY OF MORE
STABILITY IN THIS RELATIONSHIP
POST TRUMP.
>> I THINK THERE ARE TWO THINGS
THAT YOU NEED TO APPRECIATE.
THE FIRST IS THAT BIDEN IS THE
FIRST PRESIDENT SINCE THE END OF
THE COLD WAR TO COME INTO OFFICE
WITHOUT, FRANKLY, HOPES FOR A
RESET OF THE RELATIONSHIP.
BILL CLINTON, GEORGE W. BUSH,
BARACK OBAMA, AND DONALD TRUMP
ALL CAME IN PROMISING A BETTER
BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP AND THOSE
HOPES WERE INEVITABLY DASHED.
THATS NOT WHAT BIDEN HAS DONE.
BIDEN HAS TALKED ABOUT HAVING A
PRAGMATIC RELATIONSHIP AND WHILE
THERES BEEN OVERTOURTURESURS OF
OPENING THERES ALSO BEEN
STATEMENTS LIKE PUTIN IS A
KILLER AND A VIETY OF OTHER
CRITICISMS OF PUTINS HUMAN
RIGHTS REGIME.
SO I THINK THE FACT THAT THE
SUMMIT WAS KORJ YAL AND WORKMAN
LIKE WAS ENCOURAGING TO THE
RUSSIANS.
THE OTHER THING THATS
UNDERSTATED FOR THE RUSSIANS I
THINK THEYVE BEEN JUSTIFIABLY
CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT U.S. FOREIGN
POLICY HAS BEEN TOWARD THEM OVER
THE PAST FOUR YEARS.
BECAUSE THEY HAVE DONALD TRUMP
COMING IN, PRAISING PUTIN AND
SAYING THESE NICE THINGS ABOUT
RUSSIA AND THEN FOLLOWED
IMMEDIATELY BY MIKE POMPEO
ANNOUNCING SANCTIONS OR THE
BEAURACRACY DOING SOMETHING
THATS SEEN, YOU KNOW, PULLING
EMBASSY PERSONNEL OR KICKING
RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PERSONNEL
OUT.
AND I THINK TO A CERTAIN EXTENT
THE RUSSIANS DIDNT TRUST DONALD
TRUMP TO BE ABLE TO RUN THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THE FOREIGN
POLICY MACHINE.
THERES STATEMENTS OVER THE
WEEKEND THAT THEY RECOGNIZE THAT
JOE BIDEN IS IN CHARGE AND
THEREFORE EVEN THOUGH BIDEN IS
NOT GOING TO DO WHAT THEY ALWAYS
WANT THERES CLARITY IN TERMS OF
WHAT THE UNITED STATES WAS GOING
TO DO, WHICH IS NOT THE CASE
WITH HIS PREDECESSOR.
>> NEVER THE CASE WITH DONALD
TRUMP AND RICHARD HAAS,
CERTAINLY IM SURE THE RUSSIANS
FIGURED OUT EARLY ENOUGH THAT
THE MORE DONALD TRUMP HUMILIATED
HIMSELF IN PLACES LIKE HELSINKI,
THE MORE REPUBLICANS IN
CONGRESS, THE MORE FOREIGN
POLICY ANALYSTS, THE MORE
AMERICAN KMENCOMMENTATORS FELT T
NEED TO HAMMER RUSSIA TO
COMPENSATION.COMP
STATE.
SO ACTUALLY, DONALD TRUMP WAS
NEVER DOING VLADIMIR PUTIN ANY
FAVORS, DOING RUSSIA ANY FAVORS
BY HIM HUMILIATING AMERICA JUST
PUSHED REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF THE
SENATE AND THE HOUSE TO GO EVEN
HARDER ON SANCTIONS.
>> I THINK WHAT THE RUSSIANS
REALIZED, THERE WAS DONALD
TRUMPS FOREIGN POLICY AND THEN
THERE WAS THE ADMINISTRATIONS
FOREIGN POLICY AND THE
ADMINISTRATIONS FOREIGN POLICY
WAS QUITE TOUGH, QUITE
TRADITIONAL.
I THINK FOR THE BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION GOING FORWARD
THEY HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT THEIR
PRIORITIES ARE.
IS IT HUMAN RIGHTS IN RUSSIA,
THE RUSSIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM
BECAUSE THAT LEADS YOU DOWN ONE
PATH.
IS IT PUSHING RUSSIA TO ACCEPT
RESTRAINTS ON DOING THINGS IN
CYBER SPACE AND TRY TO GET MR.
PUTIN TO BACK OFF SOME OF THAT.
I THINK THAT WILL BE THE
QUESTION GOING FORWARD.
HOW ARE WE GOING TO DEFINE
SUCCESS VIS-A-VIS RUSSIA, IN ITS
FOREIGN POLICY OR DOMESTIC
REALITY.
MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE WE
FOCUS ON FOREIGN POLICY BUT I
THINK THERES A DEBATE GOING ON
IN THE ADMINISTRATION AND WHAT
THEY SAID OVER THE WEEKEND
HIGHLIGHTS THAT.
THIS EMPHASIS ON NAVALNY, AT THE
END OF THE DAY PUTIN IS GOING TO
DO WHAT HE BELIEVES HE NEEDS TO
DO TO MAINTAIN POWER AND
ULTIMATELY WE HAVE LESS
INFLUENCE OVER WHAT HAPPENS
INSIDE RUSSIA THAN WE DO WITH
ITS FOREIGN POLICY.
>> IT MAKES SENSE TO START WITH
PROTECTING THE HOMELAND AND
DISCOURAGING ATTACKS -- CYBER
ATTACKS ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE,
THEN THE FOREIGN POLICY AND THEN
THE INTERNAL POLICY OF RUSSIA.