The White House moved swiftly at the weekend to downplay US President Joe Biden’s controversial statement about his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin – ‘For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power’ – insisting Biden wasn’t calling for regime change.
Biden’s remarks about Putin in a speech in the Polish capital, Warsaw, were welcomed by Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lukasz Jasina, who was quoted by the BBC as saying: ‘The president of the most powerful country in the world came to Warsaw and spoke very plainly about the Russian aggression. [Biden] said to Russians that there is always time to change a dictator. It was a very moving and deep experience.’
Lukasz added: ‘Putin cannot be accepted back into our world society; he cannot be heard, he is not a partner we trust.’
But Biden has been sharply criticised by veteran US diplomat Richard Haass, who said in a tweet that the President’s comments ‘made a difficult situation more difficult and a dangerous situation more dangerous’.
Haass, who is president of the US Council on Foreign Relations, added: ‘That is obvious. Less obvious is how to undo the damage, but I suggest his chief aides reach their counterparts & make clear the US is prepared to deal with this Russian government.’
Haass said the White House ‘walk back of @POTUS regime change call is unlikely to wash’.
He feared that Putin ‘will see it as confirmation of what he’s believed all along. Bad lapse in discipline that runs risk of extending the scope and duration of the war.’