Author of the article: Reuters Gleb Garanich and Natalia Zinets Date of publication: March 26, 2022 • 4 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 284 comments Polish President Andrzej Duda and US President Joe Biden inspect the honor guard during a welcoming ceremony outside the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, March 26, 2022 Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza .pl via REUTERS Photo by Slawomir Kaminski / AGENCJA WYBORC / Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS
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US President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin “can not stay in power” in Poland on Saturday, a White House official said later, aimed at preparing the world’s democracies for a full-blown conflict over Ukraine and not to support regime change in Russia.
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Biden’s remarks on Saturday, including a statement earlier in the day calling Putin a “butcher,” were a sharp escalation of the US approach to Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. In a keynote address at Warsaw Royal Castle, Biden referred to Poland’s four decades behind the Iron Curtain in an effort to build a hypothesis that the world’s democracies urgently need an authoritarian Russia as a threat to global security and freedom. . But a remark at the end of the speech raised the specter of an escalation from Washington, which has avoided direct military intervention in Ukraine and has specifically said it does not support regime change.
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“In the name of God, this man can not stay in power,” Biden told a crowd in Warsaw after condemning Putin’s month-long war in Ukraine. A White House official said Biden’s statements did not represent a change in Washington policy. “The president’s issue was that Putin should not be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region,” he said. “He did not discuss Putin’s rule in Russia or regime change.” Asked about Biden’s comment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov told Reuters: “This is not Biden’s decision to make. “The president of Russia is elected by the Russians.” A view shows an apartment building that was destroyed during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 25. Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS Calling Putin’s struggle a “new battle for freedom,” Biden said Putin’s desire for “absolute power” was a strategic failure for Russia and an immediate challenge to a European peace that has largely prevailed over him. World War II.
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“The West is stronger now, more united than ever,” Biden said. “This battle will not be won in days or months. We must strengthen ourselves for the long struggle we have ahead of us “. The talk came after three days of meetings in Europe with the G7, the European Council and NATO allies, and took place at about the same time as rockets landed in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, just 60 kilometers (40 miles) from Poland. border. Smoke rises after airstrikes as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Lviv, Ukraine on March 26. Photo by STRINGER / REUTERS “Their courageous resistance is part of a broader struggle for basic democratic principles that unite all free people,” Biden said. “We stand with you. Period.” In his speech, Biden said that NATO is a defense security alliance that never sought to overthrow Russia and reiterated that the West does not want to harm the Russian people, even when its sanctions threaten to cripple their economy.
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Locals sit on a bench near an apartment building that was destroyed during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol on March 25. Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS Poland was under communist rule for four decades until 1989 and was a member of the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact security alliance. It is now part of the European Union and NATO. The rise of right-wing populism in Poland in recent years has brought it into conflict with the EU and Washington, but fears that Russia is pushing beyond its borders have brought Poland closer to its Western allies. Speaking to a crowd holding US, Polish and Ukrainian flags, Biden said the West was acting together because of the “gravity of the threat” to world peace. “The struggle for democracy could not and would not end with the end of the Cold War,” Biden said. “In the last 30 years, the forces of totalitarianism have revived all over the world.” Smoke rises after bombings near Kyiv on March 25. Photo by GLEB GARANICH / REUTERS Earlier in the day, Biden met with Ukrainian Foreign and Defense Ministers and made additional, unspecified security commitments to develop defense co-operation, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. In Warsaw, Biden also visited a national refugee reception center. More than 2 million people have fled the war in Poland. In all, about 3.8 million have fled Ukraine since the fighting began. Putin calls Russia’s military action in Ukraine a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denationalize” the country.
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