Biden, unlike predecessors, has maintained Putin skepticism

President Joe Biden frequently talks about what he sees as central in executing effective foreign policy: building personal relationships.

But unlike his four most recent White House predecessors, who made an effort to build a measure of rapport with Vladimir Putin, Biden has made clear that the virtue of fusing a personal connection might have its limits when it comes to the Russian leader.

Biden, who is set to meet with Putin face to face on Wednesday in Geneva, has repeated an anecdote about his last meeting with Putin, 10 years ago when...