Observers note that Washington has not been complacent with Moscow in the intervening years, imposing sanctions on Russia during Trump’s term in office even as the man behind the desk in the Oval Office seemed keen to look the other way. But under Biden, the mixed message of friendliness to Vladimir Putin conveyed by Trump – who declined to address such affronts as the bounties Moscow allegedly put on the heads of US troops in Afghanistan – will likely be a thing of the past.