Russia-Ukraine conflict, hot spot Biden personally clarifies Putin-related remarks Macron calls on the United States not to add fuel to the fire
After U.S. President Joseph Biden worshipped at a church in the capital Washington on the 27th, a media reporter asked him whether his remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous day were advocating “regime change.”
Biden responded with an accented one word: “No!”
French President Emmanuel Macron warned on the same day that Biden’s rhetoric about Putin could lead to an “escalation” of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The US is busy explaining
When Biden delivered a speech on the 26th in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, the last stop of his European trip, he casually said, “For God’s sake, this person (Putin) cannot continue to be in power.”
Agence France-Presse said the remarks, apparently demanding Putin’s resignation, immediately sparked a global uproar. Even White House aides were caught off guard and had to rush to clarify. A White House official said Biden was saying that Putin “must not exercise power over a neighboring country or region,” rather than talking about Putin taking power or “regime change” in Russia.
In response to Biden’s remarks, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov responded that it is not Biden who decides who is in power in Russia, “the President of Russia is elected by Russian citizens.”
US officials continued to “disinfect” on the 27th. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken denied Biden’s call to overthrow Putin during a visit to Israel, saying that Biden meant “that Putin cannot be given the power to start wars, invade Ukraine or other countries” and that whoever chooses to be Russia’s leader in the future “depends on Russia people”.
Juliana Smith, the permanent representative of the United States to NATO, stressed in an interview with several TV stations that “the United States has no regime change policy against Russia. That’s it.”
The Associated Press said that Biden’s remarks overshadowed the words and deeds of his European trip to strengthen the West’s United Front against Russia.
dissatisfied with france
French President Emmanuel Macron said on the 27th that Biden’s remarks may make it more difficult to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
He said that if a truce in Ukraine is to be desired, “we should not escalate the situation through words or deeds” that could lead to the setback of life-threatening humanitarian efforts, including from Mariupo, a key town in the Sea of Azov besieged by Russian forces to evacuate civilians.
“We have to recognize the reality and do everything we can to prevent the situation from getting out of control,” Macron said in an interview with France 3 television. “
Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Macron has kept in touch with Putin on the phone many times. According to the Associated Press’s interpretation, Macron kept a distance from Biden regarding Biden’s remarks against Putin.
Macron said he hoped to stop the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through “no war, no escalation”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on the same day that neither NATO nor the US president seeks to overthrow Putin. “We fully agree that regime change is not a policy purpose or goal that we seek together.”
Criticism at home and abroad
Republicans in the United States have accused Biden of making an “unfortunate big mistake.”
Republican Jim Risch, the vice chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Biden’s remarks are completely contradictory to the efforts of the federal government led by the federal government to avoid escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and they are shooting themselves in the foot again.
In an interview with CNN on the 27th, Risch said that Biden had a “good speech”, but he made an “amazing gaffe” at the end. He believes that Biden should speak more carefully on the international stage, “My president, please read according to the manuscript.”
According to Agence France-Presse, Biden has had a “reputation” for decades for gaffes in impromptu speeches. A newspaper once listed Biden’s “Top Ten Lost Speeches”.
Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote on social media Twitter that Biden’s words require a nuanced interpretation. “He didn’t say the U.S. should oust him (Putin). There’s a difference.”
Richard Haas, president of the Institute for Foreign Affairs, a think tank, said Biden “made difficult situations more difficult and dangerous situations more dangerous.” In the former diplomat’s view, the Kremlin would see Biden’s remarks as corroborating Russia’s claims about Ukraine.
François Espoo, a senior fellow at the British Institute for International Strategic Studies, said U.S. leaders had better not “talk about it.”