Amid soaring U.S.-Russia tensions over the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration's strategic caution is justified on certain questions, such as what to do about Crimea. That said, the White House's cautious response to other Russian actions, its downing of U.S. drones in international airspace and taking U.S. citizens hostage, is utterly counterproductive. Such overt weakness only encourages further Russian escalation, playing to the worst American stereotypes in the Kremlin. In other words, it is blood to the sharks.
Had the United States reacted more robustly to Russia's detention of Brittney Griner, for example, instead of trading her for a terrorist-supporting gun runner, the Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich might not be in a Russian jail cell today.
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Still, Russia's refusal to provide the U.S. with timely consular access to Gershkovich is totally unacceptable even beyond that. In the context of this and other recent Russian provocations, the U.S. should revoke the visas of approximately 50% of Russian state media journalists currently based in the U.S. Some of those people are, even if they're part of the Kremlin propaganda apparatus, journalists in the most basic sense. But others are likely to be exactly that which the Russians deceptively accuse Gershkovich of being: spies. Indeed, materials seen by the Washington Examiner indicate that Russia's SVR intelligence service has, in the very recent past, used the TASS state media outlet as a cover for more than one undeclared intelligence officer operating on U.S. soil.
The protection of American citizens is the Biden administration's first responsibility. Russia cannot be allowed to continue using American hostages as bargaining chips. The Kremlin must understand that the U.S. can and, if necessary, will impose more pain on Russian interests than Russia can impose on American interests.
The sending of this message is overdue.
Gershkovich has been detained by Russia since March on trumped-up espionage charges. Russia says its refusal to provide consular access is in response to the State Department's refusal to issue visas for state media journalists traveling with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to New York this week. The U.S. has also added some new sanctions against Russia's FSB domestic security service. But these are very mild countermeasures to Gershkovich's detention.
Perhaps reading into that mild quality, the Russians sense Biden's bleeding weakness in the political water.
On Thursday, the Russian foreign ministry summoned a U.S. diplomat, only to declare that the "request for a consular visit on May 11 this year [concerning] Gershkovich, an American citizen detained on charges of espionage, is rejected." The statement concluded tartly, "Other possible retaliatory measures are currently being worked out, of which the American side will be duly notified." This follows a pledge from the always theatrical Lavrov that when it comes to the visa matter, "We will not forget, we will not forgive." Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov went further, warning, "I emphasize that we will find forms of how to respond to this so that the Americans will remember for a long time that this is not done. And they will remember."
The U.S. cannot yield to such brinkmanship. The Russians are using this rhetoric for the same reason they are kidnapping American citizens — because they believe they can accrue more concessions than costs by doing so. Washington must reverse that calculation. If the Russians want to escalate further, fine. The U.S. can own the escalation curve. But the current state of affairs is not tolerable.