Immediately upon arrival in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, President Joe Biden delivered a speech threatening Russia in very similar terms to what he had used in his Washington Post op ed earlier this week, and in the White House’s Executive Order of April 15. “I’m headed to the G7, then to the NATO ministerial and then to meet with Mr. Putin to let him know what I want him to know,” Biden said at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England — home to an American refueling wing. “We are not seeking conflict with Russia, we want a stable predictable relationship,” Biden stated. “I’ve been clear, the United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way when the Russian government engages in harmful activities. We’ve already demonstrated that. I’m going to communicate that there are consequences for violating the sovereignty of democracies in the United States and Europe and elsewhere.”
The Kremlin has stated its intent to try to stop the free-fall in U.S.-Russian relations, and noted that President Putin would not be first in raising the issue of sanctions. Biden, however, seems pre-programmed to once again deliver the threats, all under the watchful eye of Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who will participate in the summit.