A wave of comments following President Joe Biden’s announcement that Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power. The Washington Post recalled Biden’s statement during the presidential campaign, when he said that the words of the President of the United States carry weight.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot stay in power,” Joe Biden said during a speech in Warsaw on Saturday (March 26).
As the Washington Post notes, “Something unprecedented has happened.” “Something that turns all US policy upside down to date, calling into question the claims of senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, that regime change (in Moscow) is not the goal.”
White House explanations
The newspaper notes that in terms of radicalism, Biden’s statement goes further than all the statements of US presidents during the Cold War. The White House immediately issued an explanation. “The president’s point of view was that Putin should not be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or region. He did not talk about Putin’s power in Russia, nor about regime change, ”a White House spokesman explained in a message given to reporters.
Some experts suggest that Biden’s words were not a signal of a change in policy, but rather “the result of a halt.” “I think it was such a heart failure. […] If Biden could close his eyes and think of 10 wishes, one of them would certainly be a change of leadership in Russia,” estimated Aaron David Miller, an expert collaborating with Carnegie. Foundation for International Peace.
So far, the US president and his administration have dismissed suggestions that the goal of US strategy is to overthrow Vladimir Putin. At the same time, the owner of the White House has become much sharper in recent days about the Russian president, calling him a war criminal, murderer and butcher.