President Biden tried to clarify on Monday a comment he made in Poland on Saturday about Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot stay in powerHe said on Monday that he expressed his moral outrage at the “actions of this man” for his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
“I want to make it clear: neither then nor now am I articulating a policy change,” he told reporters at the White House during statements to announce his budget. “I was expressing the moral outrage I feel and I do not express any apology for it: my personal feelings.”
The president denied that his original comment had complicated any diplomatic efforts around the conflict in Ukraine. “What complicates the situation right now,” he said, “is Putin’s escalating efforts.”
Mr Biden said his words were aimed at the Russian people, who were telling them and the rest of the world “what we thought”, that “this kind of behavior is totally unacceptable”.
Ting Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Shortly after Mr Biden made his remarks on Saturday, the White House tried to back down, with an official saying he was not talking about regime change.
“The president’s point was that Putin could not be allowed to wield power over his neighbors or the region,” a White House official said. “I was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia or regime change.”
In a statement to The Associated Press, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “It is not up to the president of the United States or the United States to decide who will remain in power in Russia.”
“Only the Russians, who vote for their president, can decide,” Peskov added. “And, of course, it’s inappropriate for the president of the United States to make such statements.”
Mr Biden commented on the Russian president at the end of his speech at the Warsaw Royal Castle. He also condemned Putin’s war in Ukrainewhile sympathizing with the Ukrainian people who have had their homeland destroyed by Russian forces, as well as with the Russian people who have “cut themselves off from the rest of the world.”
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