“When you put him in a corner and you talk like they talk – they talk weakly – and they almost give him a motivation,” Trump said. “They treat him very badly, in my opinion.” Beyond the US, there were indications that other leaders wanted to distance themselves from Biden’s statements – in which he also described the Russian president as a “butcher”. “I think we have to do everything we can to prevent the situation from escalating,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “I would not use such words because I am still in talks with President Putin. “What is our collective goal here?” We want to stop the war that Russia has unleashed in Ukraine without going to war and without escalating things. “It simply came to our notice then. “If we want to do that, we must not escalate into words or deeds.” “We Europeans must not give in to any escalation. We Europeans must not forget our geography and history. “We are not at war with the Russian people.”
“No regime change strategy”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stepped up his government’s efforts to defuse the crisis on Sunday. During a visit to Jerusalem on Sunday, he said: “I think the president, the White House, stressed last night that President Putin simply could not have the power to wage war or engage in aggression against it. Ukraine or any other. “As you know, and as you have repeatedly said, we do not have a strategy for regime change in Russia – or anywhere else – on this issue. “In this case, as in any case, it depends on the people of that country. It is in the hands of the Russian people.” However, experts, including Richard Haas, chairman of the US Council on Foreign Relations, accused the president of escalating the crisis. He wrote on Twitter:
