US President Joe Biden has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not be able to maintain power”. Foreign media, including AP, CNN, and the Financial Times (FT), reported on this and interpreted President Biden’s remarks as effectively calling for a regime change in Russia. Although the White House hastened to evolve, the controversy continues.
Foreign media explained that the remarks made in a speech delivered in Warsaw, Poland’s capital, which borders Ukraine, are calling for Putin’s resignation. US President Biden had a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland on the 26th to discuss the international community’s efforts to respond to Russia and support Ukraine.
In his speech, Biden said Russian President Putin “cannot remain in power”. President Biden said that Russia’s “strategic failure” was “clearly a strategic failure” in the invasion of Ukraine, noting that a swift and harsh response was the only way to change Russia. He also criticized “Russia has been suppressing democracy and has tried to do so in other regions as well.” At the same time, he praised Ukraine’s resistance as a “great fight for freedom” and said the world must prepare for a long war ahead.
After meeting Ukrainian refugees at the Warsaw National Stadium, President Biden strongly criticized him as “a butcher” when asked by reporters what he thought of Putin when he thought of the suffering of the refugees.
The Associated Press said in a statement that “the level of remarks aimed at condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine has risen dramatically” and that “President Biden has called for Putin’s resignation.” The FT also said that “President Biden deviated significantly from the attitude that the US government has taken, and directly indicated that Putin does not want to take power any longer.”
As the scandal of President Biden’s remarks spread, the White House rushed to evolve, saying that President Biden did not want a regime change in Russia. “The point of President Biden’s remarks is that Putin cannot exercise power over his neighbours or regions,” a White House official said. he told CNN. Another official added that no such remarks were made in Biden’s prepared speech.
Russia also protested Biden’s comments. Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov asserted that “[President Putin’s maintenance of power]is not a matter for President Biden to decide, it is solely the choice of the Russian people.”
Biden went on to draw the line between the democracies and Russia, saying it would take a long fight to keep Europe free. He specifically warned Putin that he should not encroach on even an inch of NATO territory.
“It won’t be easy, but today, tomorrow, and for decades to come, we must remain united,” Biden said. “There is a price to be paid, but the price we have to pay is incomparable to that of fighting the darkness that calls for a dictatorship and igniting the spark of freedom that illuminates the souls of free people,” he added. Biden also warned Putin not to expand the scope of the attack to NATO member states, and “don’t even think of going an inch into NATO territory.”
Charles Kupchan, a professor at Georgetown University, who served as chief European director at the White House National Security Council during the administration of former US President Barack Obama, said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would be a different path than strengthening Atlantic states’ posture once morest Russia. It was evaluated by AP as a game changer that made it impossible. He also added that the road ahead for Western countries, including the United States, will become more complex. “The challenges facing President Biden are becoming increasingly difficult,” said Professor Kupchan. We have to fight once morest the narrow populism that exists,” he said.
US President Joe Biden (left) and Polish President Andrzej Duda[사진=AP·연합뉴스]
Meanwhile, during US President Biden’s visit to Poland, Russia responded by bombing Lviv, a city in western Ukraine close to Poland. The bombardment continued on the nuclear research facility in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.
Archyde.com/AP Governor Maxim Kozizuki told Archyde.com/AP on Monday that two rockets hit the eastern outskirts. It was found that the fuel storage facility was destroyed and a fire broke out, and at least five people were injured. Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine, only regarding 70 kilometers from the Polish border, served as a transit point for refugees trying to cross the Polish border.
Ukraine’s parliament has also expressed concerns that Russian forces continue to bombard the nuclear power plant in Kharkiv. The Ukrainian parliament said on the same day that it was impossible to estimate the extent of the damage, citing an investigation team from the National Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Russian military has continued to attack the Kharkiv Nuclear Research Center since the 10th.
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- Hye-won Jang
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