Biden says comment about Putin was an expression of moral outrage

WASHINGTON • United States President Joe Biden on Monday stood by his comment that Mr Vladimir 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 aimed at seeking to remove Mr Putin from office.

"I was expressing the moral outrage that I feel, and I make no apologies for it," Mr Biden told reporters at the White House, rejecting criticism from around the globe in the past 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's ouster.

"It's ridiculous," he said of the questions about his speech in Warsaw, Poland, last Saturday, when he said: "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power."

On Monday, Mr Biden said: "Nobody believes I was talking about taking down Putin. Nobody believes that."

The fallout over Mr Biden's words in Warsaw underscored the quandary that he and Nato allies face about how to condemn the war in Ukraine and pressure Russia without shutting down any relationship with Moscow that might help end the invasion.

Mr Biden's remark drew some praise for its toughness and clarity but also warnings from lawmakers and French President Emmanuel Macron, who said on Sunday "I wouldn't use this kind of words" when asked about the speech.

Some critics said Mr Biden's declaration could make it more difficult to negotiate an end to the five-week-old war, which has killed thousands in Ukraine and driven millions from their homes.

Mr Biden insisted on Monday that was not the case, although Mr Putin has told Russians for years that he believes the US and the Central Intelligence Agency are conspiring to remove him from power.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Mr Biden's statement "makes us worry" and that the Kremlin would "continue to closely monitor" the US President's remarks.

The President's remark last Saturday was not the first time an apparently off-the-cuff comment upended or overshadowed an otherwise tightly scripted White House message.

During a news conference earlier on the trip, Mr Biden said Russia's use of chemical weapons "would trigger a response in kind", seeming to suggest that Nato would respond with chemical weapons, which are banned by international law.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters the next day that was not what the President meant, saying that the "United States has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstances".

NYTIMES