03/28/2022 22:11 (act 03/28/2022 22:20)
Phrase expression “moral indignation” ©APA/AFP
US President Joe Biden has defended his controversial statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” because of the war in Ukraine. Biden said at the White House on Monday that he would “not withdraw” his sentence. In his weekend speech in the Polish capital Warsaw, he expressed “moral outrage” and did not announce a new US policy. “I don’t apologize for my personal feelings.”
When questioned by journalists, Biden also denied that his statement could escalate the war in Ukraine or complicate diplomatic efforts to end the war. Biden strongly attacked Putin on Saturday night in a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw over the war of aggression against Ukraine and said – deviating from his speech: “This man cannot remain in power”. The statement immediately caused international irritation.
The White House hastily assured that Biden was not seeking “regime change” in Moscow. The Kremlin described Biden’s comments on Monday as “alarming”.
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned of a “Ukraine sale” ahead of talks between Moscow and Kiev. “We have to ensure that future negotiations do not end with the sale of Ukraine,” Truss told parliament in London on Monday. In addition, precautions should be taken so that sanctions would automatically come back into effect in the event of further Russian aggression.
Putin must not “profit from this terrible aggression,” Truss said, referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It must be ensured “that Putin can never again act so aggressively”. Representatives from Russia and Ukraine want to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine on Tuesday in Istanbul for the first time in nearly three weeks.