As he goes through the wrap-up motions of his eight-year Presidency, Barack Obama has effected a robust reprisal against Russia… barely a fortnight after he pledged to respond to cyber-attacks by Moscow during the elections and “at a time and place of our choosing”. He has chosen the time, he has chosen the place — during vacation in Hawaii — when jollity is the flavour of the season around the world.

Rarely in American history has the election to the Oval Office influenced foreign policy so profoundly, throwing up a stark difference in geostrategy between the outgoing President and the likes of Donald Trump.

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Last week’s cache of sweeping new sanctions entails the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats in retaliation against the cyber-attacks on the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Hillary Clinton’s campaign and other political organizations, in an attempt to influence the election in favour of the Republican candidate. Much as Trump nudges towards the Kremlin — in a dramatic reversal of Cold War animosity — President Obama has pledged further action, even alerting Americans that they “should be alarmed by Russia’s actions”.

Significant too is the timing of the counter-blast; he has utilised his vacation to convey a pregnant statement across the Atlantic — “I have issued an executive order that provides additional authority for responding to certain cyber activity that seeks to interfere with or undermine our election processes and institutions, or those of our allies or partners.”

On closer reflection, he has spelt out his agenda against Russia three weeks before the inaugural grandstanding and the anticipated paradigm shift in bilateral ties. As much is plain from his caveat — “I have sanctioned nine entities and individuals: the GRU and the FSB, two Russian intelligence services; four individual officers of the GRU; and three companies that provided material support to the GRU’s cyber operations.” He has also announced the closure of two Russian complexes in Maryland and New York.

In the net, Trump at the threshold is likely to be on a sticky wicket vis-a-vis US ties with Russia. Radically different is the approach to foreign policy — most importantly in relation to Russia, China, and Taiwan. It is the quadrilateral equation that will be on test as he steps into the White House in three weeks’ time.

And this is no less critical than the change in the party in power and governance in the larger scheme of things. The measure of success that Putin has scored with the Russo-Turkish agreement on Syria has been neutralised fair and square.

More crippling sanctions are on the anvil and Mr Obama has hinted that these remain “unstated”. It is imperative for him to counter the “very disturbing Russian threats to US national security”. This is the fineprint of the parting shot to the Kremlin whose diplomacy has stumbled from Ukraine to the US elections 2016.