03/26/2022 19:12 (act. 03/26/2022 19:39)
In his speech, Joe Biden openly called for Putin to fall. © AP Photo / Evan Vucci
During his speech in Warsaw, US President Joe Biden openly called for the overthrow of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This man cannot remain in power,” Biden said Saturday evening at the end of his speech on the war in Ukraine in Warsaw. He assured a harassed country with Western support, repeated the defense of NATO territory as a “sacred duty”, but at the same time prepared the world for the long struggle against autocracies.
Joe Biden harshly judged the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin
Over the past few days, Biden has made several harsh judgments against the head of the Kremlin. After calling Putin a “war criminal” and “murderous dictator”, a few hours before his speech in Warsaw, hailed as historic, he called him a “butcher”. The Kremlin reacted immediately to the announcement and told the spokesman to say that the butcher’s statement by Biden had worsened the prospects for improving relations. After Biden’s speech, a White House official stated that the US president had not called for a regime change in Russia.
In a speech in Warsaw, Biden openly called for Putin to fall
In his speech, the US president warned the head of the Kremlin against attacking NATO countries. “Don’t even think about taking action against a centimeter of NATO territory,” he said. The United States and its NATO partners have a “sacred responsibility” to defend Alliance territory by the combined force of all its members.
Biden called on the Russian people to distance themselves from the war. “You, the Russian people, are not our enemy.” But the Russian attacks on the civilian population in Ukraine, which forced millions to flee, are not befitting a great nation. “This is not who you are, this is not the future you deserve for your family,” said Biden. “This war is not worth you.” He reminded that 200 thousand. Russians have already left their homeland. Biden described the Kremlin’s report that Russia “denazified” Ukraine as “a lie” and “simply cynical and obscene.”
The world expects a “long struggle” between democracies and autocracies
In his bellicose speech, Biden made it clear that the world expected a “long struggle” between democracies and autocracies. It is about “the great battle between democracy and autocracy, between freedom and oppression, between a rules-based order and one that is determined by brute force. We must arm ourselves for a long fight, said the US president, born in the middle of World War II.
Biden: The people’s desire for freedom will prevail
Referring to historical experience, Biden was convinced that ultimately the human desire for freedom would prevail. In this context, he recalled the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, and specifically mentioned the Pan-European Picnic on the Austro-Hungarian border in the summer of 1989. Both at the beginning and at the end of his speech, a devout Catholic quoted the historic words of Pope John Paul II’s first sermon in 1978: “Do not be afraid!” At that time, great merits in the fight against the communist dictatorships of Central and Eastern Europe were attributed to the Polish clergyman.
According to Biden, NATO is a purely defensive alliance
In his speech, Biden stressed that NATO is a purely defensive alliance and never sought the collapse of Russia. He reassured Ukraine of his support. “We’re with you,” he said. Only “quick and disciplinary” costs will make Russia change course. At the same time, Biden was convinced that Ukraine would ultimately prevail. “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia because free people have refused to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness,” said Biden. The Ukrainians showed that the power of many is greater than that of one dictator. “Don’t lose hope, don’t get tired, don’t get discouraged and don’t be afraid.”
Binden visited the border town of Rszeszów in Poland
Biden arrived in Poland on Friday afternoon and visited the border town of Rszeszów for the first time, where he met American soldiers and aid workers. On Saturday, in Warsaw, he met with the President of Poland Andrzej Duda and two Ukrainian ministers. In addition, Biden met with Ukrainian refugees.
He was cautious about the latest assumptions that Russia might have changed its strategy one month after the war had started. Biden said he wasn’t sure. The government in Moscow recently stated that it is now focused on “liberating” the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Western observers interpreted this as a course change. Since the invasion four weeks ago, the Russian army has captured the territory of southern and eastern Ukraine. In the north, however, the attack on the capital, Kyiv, stops. Western military analysts say a change of position could allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare victory face-saving.
The US president demonstrated his solidarity with Ukraine
Biden also met on Saturday with Ukraine’s foreign and defense ministers in Warsaw, demonstrating his solidarity with the country under attack by the Russians. For the meeting during Biden’s visit to Poland, Dmytro Kuleba and Oleksij Resnikow went to Warsaw on Saturday despite the ongoing fighting in their homeland. Biden met with Ukrainian ministers in the presence of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin Platz.