Vladimir Putin is a man who knows when he’s got it good. And in the run-up to his first-ever meeting with the American President — the going was better than expected. Not least because the so-called China threat dominated the NATO summit earlier this week. So far so good. And while the bromance that Putin enjoyed with a certain Donald Trump was visibly missing from the proceedings, it must have been heartwarming, nevertheless, to know the extent to which President Biden rushed to defend the tête-à-tête; that pesky business of the non-fatal poisoning of a leading Russian opposition leader notwithstanding. But what was achieved? Essentially, both sides talked about talking some more. Namely, on arms control, cyber security and hopefully strengthening the New START treaty — limiting the number of nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers that both sides can deploy — before it expires in 2026. Where things almost unraveled was when Putin engaged in a little back-chat over his country’s human rights records. He not unreasonably cited the Black Lives Matter movement — though it was not clear if he was pointing to the prevailing institutional racism in the US or the violent turn that these protests took — as well as the Capitol Hill riots. If Putin appeared confident, it was with good reason. He has already showcased sufficient muscle to unilaterally annexe Crimea from the Ukraine while NATO stood idly by. Not forgetting the recent military build-up along Kyiv’s borders. The bottom line is that Russia is not going anywhere and this meeting underscored American recognition of that in way that the Obama administration never quite grasped; despite all the big talk of resetting ties. And Biden knows that Putin is also invested in a stable Afghanistan which is the gatekeeper to Moscow’s own backyard. Indeed, Russia has been involved in the multilateral peace process from the get-go. And the Afghans themselves no longer view the Bear through the singular lens of aggressor. For, they have, on occasion, appealed directly to Moscow to help get them out of the fine mess the Americans landed them in. Resulting in a delicious twist of irony back in 2016 when the Russians sent military aid packages to Kabul — some three decades after ending their occupation of that country — to help counter increasing violence from various non-state actors that sprung up in the wake of the US misadventure. Moving forward, things can only get better. Though with EU-Russia ties at an all time low following allegations of election interference and cyberattacks — Biden’s thus far pragmatic approach to Moscow might not go down too well with Brussels. But the 27-member bloc had better not expect any grand gestures from Washington on this front. After all, Europe has long been little more than geo-strategic interest to the US as an open-door policy to Eurasia and beyond. For the time being, at least, America is back. As opposed to being great again. And only Putin knows which one he prefers. *