| On Tuesday, Joe Biden offered Vladimir Putin the carrot of a summit, something the Kremlin leader craves as proof Russia's still a superpower. Today, the U.S. president may apply the stick. The Biden administration plans expulsions of Russian diplomats and sanctions on organizations and individuals accused of hacking attacks and election meddling, Alberto Nardelli, Nick Wadhams and Jennifer Jacobs report. But one punishment that really stings is the "nuclear" option of banning U.S. financial institutions from buying new Russian sovereign debt, which the administration plans as a further measure. The ruble dived alongside Russian bonds. Tensions are already high over Russia's troop build-up on the Ukrainian border and the poisoning of Alexey Navalny, the Kremlin critic now on hunger strike in jail. Still, Washington appeared to offer a concession after Turkey said today the U.S. had canceled plans to send two warships through Turkish straits into the Black Sea, something Russia had called "extremely provocative." Putin famously refuses to bend to pressure and years of western sanctions over his annexation of Crimea did nothing to change Russian actions. The Kremlin denies the litany of U.S. accusations against it. It could come down to a test of nerves. At the same time, Putin knows Biden's presidency is just starting and both sides say they want more predictable relations after the turmoil under Donald Trump. Biden is offering Putin a choice: Take your medicine for past sins and change your ways if you want that summit. Or expect more pain. — Anthony Halpin | 
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