SNIPPETS FROM A POLITICO interview with European Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Kadri Liik.

Does Putin see Biden as weak — after Afghanistan? “I don’t think so. I think people in Moscow, at least people who matter and who are influential in foreign policy debates, their thinking was rather that Biden is smart. He’s trying to limit his frontlines. He’s not fighting each and every battle. Plus, Biden is someone who can speak on behalf of the West. During the whole Trump period, there was no one like that.”