Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin exchange pleasantries

I would like to start this article with a little explanation. Sometimes, in articles about events in Russia, readers leave comments expressing dissatisfaction - why you are writing about Russia, don't we have enough problems on our own. You probably want to divert public attention away from domestic failures with this Russian theme.

We write a lot and often about domestic problems, but Russia is our closest neighbor and practically only security threat. Neither Lithuania, nor Estonia, nor Germany or France, nor even Lukashenko's Belarus threatens our security. Unfortunately, this cannot be 100% said about the current Russia. Therefore, we cannot ignore what is happening in this neighboring country. Like Russia-US relations, which are very important in the overall security architecture of the world.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to new US President Joe Biden was deeply symbolic, as both presidents are political veterans and are well aware of the importance of a first conversation at this level for further relations (Putin had already met Biden in 2011 when one was prime minister, but the other - vice president). Formally, the pretext for the call was to welcome the presidency, but in fact it was a desire to agree on an extension of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, as the current treaty expires on 5 February. As both parties have an interest in extending this agreement (neither needs an unnecessary arms race), there was no disagreement on this issue. However, they arose on other issues.

Biden immediately informed Putin that he had agreed on the agenda with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Thus, Biden sought to emphasize that the West would continue to operate as a monolithic bloc and that the times of Trump, when the United States distanced itself from all others, including their allies, were over.

The first thing the analysts point out is the different emphasis on Kremlin and White House news sites. If the US reports that in talks with Putin, Biden has touched on Russian cyber-attacks, attempts to interfere in the US elections, the poisoning of Navalny and his arrest, as well as issues of strengthening Ukraine's sovereignty, the Kremlin's website does not even mention these issues. The theme of Ukraine is named as its internal affair. However, it is emphasized that the negotiations can be described as businesslike and open.

Although the main outcome of the talks between the two presidents is the extension of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, it is worth touching on this different interpretation of the talks, as it shows the differences in worldviews. The fact that much of the conversation is in no way reflected in the Kremlin's official release shows how they are perceived by Putin himself and his immediate surroundings (I mean here primarily the Kremlin's chief ideologue and, in my opinion, Putin's only political confidant - the head of the Federal Security Service when Putin's popularity took off like a rocket in space in the autumn of 1999, the current Secretary of the Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev).

Putin's more than 20 years of public activity provide a relatively good understanding of his world and way of thinking. There is no place for what is called universal values ​​in the West. Mentioning these values ​​is seen as a formal addition to the "serious" negotiations. Much like questioning - how are you, or how was your trip, how do you like here - before the meaningful part of the conversation. For example, in the Chinese negotiating tradition, this part of "courtesy" can take a very long time, and many foreign entrepreneurs have not been able to achieve the desired result simply because they lack the patience to endure all these "empty" speeches.

Putin understands that it is important for his Western interlocutors to tell their constituents that they have talked to the Russian leader about these things, but all this is really just for a checkmark. Let's talk about Navalny, about "human rights", about Russia's "intervention" and other things, if you really need it so much, and I'm even ready to listen to it all generously, but then let's get to the point - let's discuss missile control agreements, withdrawal from the Open Skies Agreement and other issues of planetary significance.

How could Russia-US (more broadly, Western) relations develop? On the Western side, it would most likely be a "policy of peaceful coexistence". Hardly any sharper Western steps are expected due to the possible tightening of the "tightening of the screws" in Russia's domestic politics.

The fact that Russia is not exactly in "Europe" (West) is better understood in the West than in Russia itself (especially on the opposition side), and that is why human rights violations there are being overlooked. Like the lack of democracy in China or Saudi Arabia.

This policy of peaceful coexistence would also perfectly satisfy the Kremlin, as long as everything is peaceful politically and the government maintains a sufficiently high level of public support. There is no economic boom as it was in the first two terms of Putin's rule, with which the government can please the people. Then there is the last resort - patriotism (read: imperial ambitions). Hate against the [rotten] West, the [cursed] America, is the only thing that allows an ordinary Russian citizen to look at Putin with even minimal enthusiasm. Unfortunately, it may be that to maintain a high rating for Putin, proving the patriotic spirit with plain words may not be enough, and this will have to be confirmed with actions as in 2014.

Admittedly, recent events, including the aforementioned Patrushev's interview with newspaper Argumenti i fakti, published on the same day as Putin spoke to Biden, suggest that the emphasis for maintaining power will be not so much on propaganda and positive ratings as on repressive intimidation methods. All who are not with us are enemies of the state, against whom there is not and will be no mercy. In such a situation, the need for foreign policy gambles may significantly decrease, and there is a high probability that Russia-US (Western) relations will continue "as usual".