Putin vs. POTUS: Two decades of tension and diplomatic standoffs

Since assuming workplace in 1999, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a pivotal determine in international politics, participating with U.S. Presidents from Bill Clinton to Joe Biden, every relationship characterised by its distinctive set of challenges and diplomatic maneuvers.

Spanning over two decades, Putin’s political tenure has intersected with the administrations of 5 U.S. leaders, every bringing their very own insurance policies and views to the customarily fraught U.S.-Russia relationship.

As Putin is inaugurated for an unprecedented fifth six-year time period, Newsweek takes a take a look at these relationships, and the continuing chess match between the Kremlin and White House that has influenced main geopolitical points from cybersecurity to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Bill Clinton: The Initial Encounter (1999-2000)

The starting of Putin’s tenure overlapped with the ultimate months of Bill Clinton’s presidency. Despite a heat relationship with Putin’s predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, Clinton has recounted that he discovered Putin personally chilly, however competent.

Clinton as soon as stated he hung up after congratulating Putin on changing into appearing Russian president in 1999 “thinking he was tough enough to hold Russia together.”

As NATO expanded eastward within the late Nineteen Nineties and battle erupted in Kosovo, tensions between the 2 superpowers ratcheted up. Clinton criticized Russia’s marketing campaign in Chechnya, prompting sharp responses from Putin.

More lately, on account of Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, Clinton rejected the notion that Putin’s invasion was a response to NATO’s growth, which started throughout his presidency. He informed CNN in 2022: “I think we did the right thing at the right time. And if we hadn’t done it, this crisis might have occurred even sooner.”

George W. Bush: From Soul Gazing to Tension (2001-2008)

George W. Bush entered workplace aiming to stabilize relations with Russia. His preliminary encounters with the Russian chief had been heat, illustrated by Bush’s well-known declare to have regarded into Putin’s eyes and seen his “soul” throughout a press convention on June 16, 2001, in Slovenia. However, the connection deteriorated over disagreements over the Iraq War, U.S. missile protection plans in Eastern Europe, and Russia’s inside insurance policies, which Bush noticed as more and more authoritarian.

While there have been moments of camaraderie, Putin had his personal criticisms of the Bush presidency. As the Iraq struggle deterioriated right into a quagmire for the U.S., Putin stated he wouldn’t be lectured on democracy from the American president. “We would not want to have a democracy like in Iraq,” he informed reporters throughout a joint press convention with Bush.

Bush’s vp, Dick Cheney, additionally remained unmoved, saying when he noticed Putin, “I believe KGB, KGB, KGB,” referring to the Soviet secret service to which the Russian president as soon as belonged.

When Russia invaded Georgia within the waning days of Bush’s second time period in 2008, Bush confronted Putin immediately on the Beijing Olympics, he wrote in his memoirs. Bush wrote that warned Putin that the Georgian president was hot-blooded.

“I’m hot-blooded too,” Putin replied. “No, Vladimir,” Bush retorted. “You’re cold-blooded.”

Barack Obama: The Chill Deepens (2009-2016)

Barack Obama, who additionally got here into workplace with plans to “reset” relations with Russia, discovered himself more and more at odds with Putin virtually from day one of his presidency. Obama’s working relationship with Putin was largely marked by sanctions and diplomatic standoffs. Disagreements over Syria, Ukraine and allegations of election interference led to a brand new low in bilateral relations.

Diplomatic relations between the Kremlin and White House all however collapsed with Russia’s shock annexation of Crimea on March 18, 2014, which preceded the total invasion of Ukraine by eight years and led to a renewal of the Cold War-esque tension that simmers right this moment.

Obama as soon as described Putin as a “tough, street-smart, unsentimental” character, additionally saying that Putin reminded him of the political barons he encountered throughout his early profession in Chicago.

For his half, Putin by no means made his distaste for Obama a lot of a secret, as soon as saying: “President Obama hasn’t been elected by the American people to be pleasant to Russia…” In response to Obama’s remark calling Russia a “regional power,” Putin stated, “It is hard to dialogue with people who confuse Austria with Australia.”

Donald Trump: Controversial Camaraderie (2017-2020)

Donald Trump’s presidency was marked by controversy from the start over alleged Russian interference within the 2016 election. But Trump and Putin appeared to have a considerably hotter private relationship.

The relationship was marked by public admiration. Putin, who as soon as referred to Trump as a “colorful individual,” expressed his willingness to work with him from the start.

Their interactions had been marked by a sequence of high-profile conferences, together with a notable summit in Helsinki the place Trump appeared to facet with Putin over his personal intelligence companies relating to election interference. That alternate precipitated uproar within the U.S., with critics accusing Trump of undermining American pursuits.

Putin, for his half, appeared to understand Trump’s willingness to flout typical diplomatic norms however remained cautious, conscious of the political instability Trump’s presidency introduced.

The Russian president additionally noticed a possibility with Trump in workplace, utilizing Trump’s impeachments and investigations to criticize the American political system as “rotten”.

Joe Biden: Back to the Cold War (2021-present)

When Joe Biden got here into workplace, U.S.-Russia relations noticed a return to a extra confrontational type — inherited from the Obama administration — with Biden brazenly criticizing Putin and taking a agency stance on points like human rights and Ukrainian sovereignty.

One of the defining moments early in his presidency was when Biden agreed with an outline of Putin as a “killer” throughout a media interview, which led to a quick recall of the Russian ambassador to the U.S. for consultations — a diplomatic sign of the frayed relations between the 2 powers. In response, Putin stated merely: “It takes one to know one.” He additionally argued that the U.S. was a murderous state, citing historic occasions equivalent to slavery and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan by the U.S. on the finish of WWII.

The Biden administration, together with Western allies, has additionally slapped Russia and Putin personally with sanctions for the reason that invasion of Ukraine. The final assembly between the 2 leaders happened in 2021 — earlier than the struggle — at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland. Both leaders agreed on the time that the connection was at a “low point.”

It would solely go decrease from there.