News in-depth. Ukraine crisis marks biggest test yet for ‘Biden doctrine’ on foreign policy

Author: Editors Desk Source: Financial Times

January 28, 2022 at 08:26

‘The days of the US rolling over in the face of Russian aggression . . . are over,’ Joe Biden said last February © FT montage. AFP/Getty/AP

US president who pledged to stare down threats from Putin faces moment of reckoning

In early February last year, US president Joe Biden made the short trip to the state department’s headquarters to deliver the first big foreign policy address of his presidency, and a pledge to stare down threats from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

“The days of the US rolling over in the face of Russian aggression . . . are over,” Biden said. “We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people. And we will be more effective in dealing with Russia when we work in coalition and co-ordination with other like-minded partners.”

A year later, the 79-year-old president is facing a moment of reckoning on those words, as Russian troops gather on the border with Ukraine amid the threat of a possible invasion, and Putin tries to press Nato into limiting its reach and influence in the region.

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