Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, January 2020
Maxim Shemetov / TPX Images of the Day / Reuters

President Joe Biden has articulated the contours of a pragmatic policy toward Russia: engage where possible, but don’t check American values at the door. Then, contain, deter, and punish President Vladimir Putin when necessary. Unlike President Donald Trump, who spent four years praising and courting Putin, Biden has cast his Russia policy as part of a broader global contest between democracy and dictatorship, pledging democratic renewal at home and multilateral cooperation abroad.

This is a great start. But the first real test of Biden’s ability to translate policy aspirations into action comes this week in Geneva, where the

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