Europe | Diplomacy with menaces

Joe Biden adopts a tough new tone with Vladimir Putin

But will it be enough to avert another Russian invasion of Ukraine?

|WASHINGTON, DC

WHEN JOE BIDEN met Vladimir Putin in Geneva last June, he spoke of his desire for “stable and predictable” relations with Russia and pointed to several areas in which the two could co-operate, not least on limiting nuclear weapons and fighting terrorism. This time, in a two-hour video call, the tone was confrontational. Mr Biden warned his counterpart of harsh retribution if the Russian troops currently massing on Ukraine’s borders launched an invasion.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Diplomacy with menaces”

What would America fight for?

From the December 11th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Europe

Head of Freedom Party (FPOe) Herbert Kickl.

Herbert Kickl, Austria’s hard-right ideologue who played the long game

The Freedom Party leader is on the verge of becoming chancellor

Participants of the II Black March of Wolyn 1943 are walking through the streets of the city on the 81st anniversary of the Wolyn massacre in Krakow, Poland, on July 11, 2024.

A dispute over old war crimes strains Polish-Ukrainian relations

The beneficiary is Russia


The leader of the far-right Freedom party (FPOe) Herbert Kickl leaves after talks with Austria's President on January 6, 2025 at the presidential Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria

Austria could soon have a first far-right leader since 1945

Herbert Kickl of the Freedom Party could be the next head of government


Olaf Scholz still thinks he can win re-election as chancellor

Someone has to

Europe has lots of lithium, but struggles to get it out of the ground

Its targets for strategic autonomy look hard to meet

Spain’s government marks 50 years since Franco died

Opponents say it is the birth of democracy that should be commemorated