Blinken’s intervention is the latest attempt by the White House to withdraw from the inflammatory remarks made by Biden in his speech in Poland on Saturday. “In the name of God, this man can not stay in power,” Biden said in comments received by many as a call for regime change in Moscow. The US president said Putin was “determined to use violence”, adding that “there is simply no excuse or challenge for choosing Russia’s war” in Ukraine. Biden tells Putin in the crowd “he can not stay in power” – video Minutes after Biden spoke, the White House downplayed his remarks, saying the president “was not discussing Putin’s rule in Russia or regime change.” According to an official, the speech was not a call for the overthrow of the Russian president, but rather an attempt to prepare the world’s democracies for a widespread conflict. Blinken was even more emphatic when addressing the issue during a visit to Jerusalem on Sunday. “I think the president, the White House, pointed out last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot have the power to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else,” he said. “As you know, and as you have heard us say over and over again, we do not have a regime change strategy in Russia – or anywhere else – on this issue.” The Russian government has said Biden appears to have lost his temper, adding that it is not up to the US president to determine who rules Russia. “A state leader must control his composure,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov told the state-run Tass news agency. “Personal insults like this limit the window of opportunity for our bilateral relations in the current period. [US] management. “It’s essential that we know this.” Biden’s comments have also come as a surprise to the United States and beyond. Richard Haas, a veteran U.S. diplomat and chairman of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, said his remarks were counterproductive and damaging. “@Potus’ comments made a difficult situation more difficult and a dangerous situation more dangerous,” Haass wrote on Twitter. “It simply came to our notice then. “It is less obvious how to undo the damage, but I suggest to his top aides to contact their counterparts and make it clear that the US is ready to deal with this Russian government.” Haass added: “As has been said, you can only go to war with the army you have. No less true is that you can end a war only with the opponent you have. The fact that Putin’s Russia acted criminally does not change this truth. “Regime change may be a hope, but it cannot be the basis of our strategy.” Tobias Ellwood, a British lawmaker serving as chairman of the Commons’s defense committee, said the comment was “unwise” and would be taken advantage of by Putin. “The Russian people must come to this (obvious) conclusion,” Elwood wrote on Twitter. “Putin / Xi (and many Russians) will now read ‘regime change’ as POTUS ‘broader goal – beyond Ukraine’s support. “Putin will turn this around, deepen it and fight harder.” The British government has said that Putin’s future is a matter for the Russian people. “I think the Russian people are very tired of what is happening in Ukraine, this illegal invasion, the destruction of their own livelihoods, their economy is collapsing around them and I think the Russian people will decide the fate of Putin and his friends, “Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News on Sunday morning. Asked if Biden was wrong to say what he had, Zahawi replied: “No, what I’m telling you is that the White House was very clear on that, the president gave a very strong speech about it and I think both “The United States and the United Kingdom agree that it is up to the Russian people to decide who will rule them.” Biden’s speech came as Russia fired symbolic missiles at the Ukrainian city of Lviv, 40 miles from the Polish border. Speaking after Biden’s speech late Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the West to deliver military equipment that had “dusted off” stocks, saying his country needed only 1% of NATO aircraft and 1% of NATO aircraft. % of tanks. Western nations have so far provided Ukraine with anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as small arms and protective equipment, but have not provided heavy armor or aircraft. “We have been waiting for 31 days,” Zelensky said. “Who is responsible for the Euro-Atlantic community? “Is Moscow really still intimidated?” Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that Russia’s targeting of the country’s fuel and food storage facilities meant that the government would have to dismantle both stocks in the near future, while the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service said Russia is trying to split Ukraine in two to create a Moscow-controlled area after failing to occupy the entire country. “In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine,” Kyrylo Budanov said in a statement, adding that Ukraine would soon launch a guerrilla war in Russian-occupied territories. Meanwhile, the leader of Russia-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine said the region could soon hold a referendum on joining Russia. “I believe that in the near future a referendum will be held in the territory of the republic,” said Leonid Pasehnik. “The people will exercise their absolute constitutional right and express their opinion on joining the Russian Federation.” Russia last month recognized Luhansk and Donetsk as independents and ordered what it called a peacekeeping operation in the region shortly afterwards. Reuters contributed to this report
