{"id":13293,"date":"2022-03-29T05:49:44","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T12:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=13293"},"modified":"2022-03-29T05:52:56","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T12:52:56","slug":"i-make-no-apologies-biden-says-his-putin-comments-were-an-expression-of-moral-outrage-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=13293","title":{"rendered":"“\u2018I Make No Apologies\u2019: Biden Says His Putin Comments Were an Expression of Moral Outrage”, The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/span>Michael D. Shear, front page story, March 29, 2022<\/span><\/p>\n

President Biden said his words, delivered in a speech over the weekend in Warsaw, were not a call for regime change in Russia.<\/em><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 President Biden on Monday stood by his comment that Vladimir V. Putin should not remain president of Russia, but he said it was an expression of his own horror over the invasion of Ukraine and not a change in American policy<\/a> aimed at seeking to remove Mr. Putin from office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was expressing the moral outrage that I feel, and I make no apologies for it,\u201d Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House, rejecting criticism from around the globe in the last two days about the potential diplomatic consequences of his words. The president said no one should have interpreted his comments as calling for Mr. Putin\u2019s ouster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d he said of the questions about his speech in Warsaw on Saturday<\/a>, when he said, \u201cFor God\u2019s sake, this man cannot remain in power.\u201d On Monday, Mr. Biden said: \u201cNobody believes I was talking about taking down Putin. Nobody believes that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fallout over Mr. Biden\u2019s words in Warsaw underscored the dilemma that he and the NATO allies face about how to condemn the war in Ukraine<\/a> and pressure Russia without shutting down any relationship with Moscow that might help end the invasion.<\/p>\n

The West will also have to decide whether Moscow would be allowed back into the global economy, whether to lift sanctions and how to resume diplomatic relations if Russia pulls back its forces.<\/p>\n

Mr. Biden\u2019s remark drew some praise for its toughness and clarity but also warnings from lawmakers and President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> of France, who said on Sunday that \u201cI wouldn\u2019t use this kind of words\u201d when asked about Mr. Biden\u2019s speech. Mr. Macron said he hoped to obtain a cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine through diplomacy.<\/p>\n

Some critics said Mr. Biden\u2019s declaration could make it more difficult to negotiate an end to the 5-week-old war, which has killed thousands in Ukraine and driven millions from their homes.<\/p>\n

Mr. Biden insisted on Monday that was not the case, although Mr. Putin has told Russians for years that he believes the United States and the C.I.A. are conspiring to remove him from power. Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin\u2019s spokesman, said that Mr. Biden\u2019s statement \u201cmakes us worry\u201d and that the Kremlin would \u201ccontinue to closely monitor\u201d the president\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/picture><\/div>\n

President Vladimir V. Putin has told Russians for years that he believes the United States and the C.I.A. are conspiring to remove him from power.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Sputnik, via Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n

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In his speech in Warsaw, Mr. Biden tried to draw a distinction between Mr. Putin\u2019s actions and those of the Russian people, who he said were not responsible for the atrocities being committed by the country\u2019s military in Ukraine each day. He suggested that Russian controls on television and the internet had left the country\u2019s citizens unaware of the truth.<\/p>\n

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\u201cVladimir Putin\u2019s aggression have cut you, the Russian people, off from the rest of the world, and it\u2019s taking Russia back to the 19th century,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Moments later, he proclaimed that \u201ca dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people\u2019s love for liberty\u201d before declaring that Mr. Putin should go.<\/p>\n

The White House appeared to rapidly understand that Mr. Biden\u2019s words could be seen as a reversal of the administration\u2019s long-stated position that it was not seeking regime change in Russia. It took just minutes for officials to back away from Mr. Biden\u2019s comments on Saturday evening. Reporters had just loaded buses after his speech when administration officials sent an email denying that the president was formally advocating Mr. Putin\u2019s removal.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told journalists in Jerusalem that \u201cwe do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else, for that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, his first extended comments on the matter, Mr. Biden insisted his statement had been misinterpreted.<\/p>\n

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Live Updates:\u00a0Russia-Ukraine War<\/a><\/h2>\n
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March 29, 2022, 7:01 a.m. ET<\/span>1 hour ago<\/span><\/div>\n

1 hour ago<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n