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President Biden on Saturday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” as he declared the Russian invasion of Ukraine a “strategic failure” while pledging continued support for the embattled Ukrainian people.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said during a speech in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland.
BIDEN CALLS PUTIN A ‘BUTCHER’ AFTER MEETING WITH UKRAINIAN REFUGEES IN POLAND
It appeared to be the first time Biden has explicitly called for Putin’s removal and would mark a sharp contrast from prior statements from the White House, which have emphasized that regime change in Russia is not the policy of the United States.
Shortly after Biden’s address however, the White House denied that Biden was calling for regime change.
“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” a White House official told Fox News Digital shortly after the speech concluded.
President Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
(AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
The remark came at the end of an address in which he took a strong line against the Russian incursion into Ukraine — calling the aggression “nothing less than a direct challenge to the rule-based international order established since the end of World War II.”
In the speech, in which he referenced Polish Pope St. John Paul II and former president Lech Walesa, he also gave a stark warning to Putin about any potential move into the territory of NATO allies, including Poland.
“Don’t even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory,” he said. “We have a sacred obligation under Article five to defend each and every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power.”
In the speech he stressed the…
Source : foxnews
