The president also insisted that he did not call for a change of regime in Moscow, which would represent a dramatic turn towards a direct confrontation with another country with nuclear weapons. “I was expressing the moral outrage I felt for this man,” Biden said. “I did not articulate a policy change.” The president’s terrifying remark about Putin, which came at the end of a speech in Warsaw on Saturday aimed at uniting democracies in a long-running global struggle against totalitarianism, drew criticism in the United States and shocked some Western allies. Richard Haas, chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, said he believed Biden’s remarks on Monday were “an effective way for the president to go beyond what was an unavoidable mistake”. Haass had initially worried that aggressive American rhetoric could “make Putin feel he had little to lose by staying tough or even escalating.” Biden rejected the idea that his comment could escalate tensions over the war in Ukraine or fuel Russian propaganda for Western aggression. “No one believes; I talked about Putin’s downfall,” Biden said, adding that “the last thing I want to do is get involved in a land war or a nuclear war with Russia.” He said he was expressing an “ambition” and not a goal of US foreign policy. “People like him should not rule countries. “But they do,” he said. “Just because they do it does not mean I can not express my anger at it.” Biden’s observation in Warsaw has sparked outrage around the world despite the White House’s swift efforts to make it clear that the president simply meant that Putin “could not allow Putin to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.” On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded to Biden’s speech by saying “we need de-escalation. “We need military de-escalation and rhetorical de-escalation.” Although Biden has often promoted American unity with European allies since the invasion of Ukraine began, he appears to have caused some inconvenience by targeting Putin in Warsaw. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that “he would not use these terms because I continue to talk to President Putin, because what do we want to do collectively? “We want to stop the war that Russia started in Ukraine, without waging war and without escalation.” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was forced to continue clarifying Biden’s speech during a trip to the Middle East, where he aimed to focus on stabilizing US partnerships as the government seeks a renewed nuclear deal with Iran. Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem, Blinken said Biden meant “Putin can not be authorized to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else.” Biden had previously gone further than expected when talking about Putin, calling him a “war criminal” at a time when government officials said they were still looking into the matter. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at the time that Biden was “speaking from the heart” instead of drawing a legal conclusion. Republicans have questioned why Biden decided to leave the scenario in Warsaw when he was facing a flammable conflict. Some said his provocative rhetoric was strange given his otherwise cautious approach, such as his refusal to facilitate the transfer of Polish fighter jets to the Ukrainian army. “If we are so worried about provoking him that we could not send a MiG to Ukraine, how is that different?” R-Texas MP Michael McCaul told CNN “State of the Union” on Sunday. “In fact, I would say it is more challenging than sending a MiG to Ukraine.” The United States is rushing to Ukraine with weapons such as anti-tank missiles and is considering providing anti-ship missiles to make it more difficult for Russia to carry out an amphibious attack along the Black Sea coast. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains outraged by the pace of military aid, accusing Western leaders of cowardice and reiterating his call for tanks and fighter jets. __ Associated Press author Edith Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations.
