President Joe Biden hears a question from a reporter about Russian President Vladimir Putin after he spoke about his proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 at the White House State Dining Room on Monday, March 28, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky) President Joe Biden said Monday that he was “doing nothing back” after commenting at the weekend that Russian President Vladimir Putin “could not stay in power”, although Biden insisted he did not call for regime change in Moscow. “I was expressing the moral outrage I felt for this man,” he said. “I was not articulating a policy change.” Biden said he was not worried that his comments would escalate tensions over the war in Ukraine. “This is just a simple fact, that this kind of behavior is completely unacceptable,” he said. The remarks about Putin, which came at the end of a speech in Warsaw aimed at uniting democracies in a long-running global struggle against totalitarianism, sparked controversy in the United States and upset some allies in Western Europe. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded to Biden’s comment by saying “we need de-escalation”. “We need military de-escalation and rhetorical de-escalation,” he said on Monday. 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.” Although the White House insisted after the speech that Biden did not call for a change of regime, Republicans questioned why he decided to avoid the scenario when facing a flammable conflict. Some said Biden’s 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.
Journalist: Are you sure Vladimir Putin sees it that way… Biden: I do not care what he thinks… pic.twitter.com/oWDkLivqjG – Acyn (@Acyn) March 28, 2022
