Most presidential transitions offer opportunities to reexamine relationships between the United States and other countries. Despite the strangely friendly relationship between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S.-Russian relationship is in abysmal shape. This has led to calls from some experts for the incoming Biden administration to increase dialogue with Moscow, appoint a special envoy to try to repair the relationship, and focus on solving problems between the two sides. That is a bad idea.
OP-ED
David Kramer, John Herbst: Confronting Putin requires more backbone
A poster with a picture of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (L) with the headline "poisoned" is seen near an effigy of President Vladimir Putin outside the Russian embassy on Unter den Linden in Berlin during an anti-government protest on Sept. 23, 2020.