Bloomberg (USA): due to the objections of allies, Biden seeks to soften his comment to Putin
Biden's anti-Russian rhetoric during his speech in Warsaw caused sharp discontent among the European allies of the United States and in America itself, Bloomberg reports. Washington is thus fomenting a dangerous confrontation with Moscow. At the same time, an attempt to use the "Ukrainian question" is unlikely to help Democrats in the midterm congressional elections, the author emphasizes.
- The president and his advisers are trying to soften Biden's comment that Putin "cannot remain in power."
- Republicans criticized Biden for the lack of discipline in his statements.
US President Joe Biden tried to clarify his statement about Vladimir Putin. Biden said that he did not call for a change of power [in Russia] at all, after European allies expressed alarm over his comments, and critics warned that in this way he only increases tensions with Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron and the Government of the United Kingdom tried to distance themselves from Biden's shocking comment, which was the culmination of his speech in Warsaw on March 26. One official from the US administration suggested that Biden was too strongly influenced by the stories he heard from Ukrainian refugees.
Since the results of a public opinion poll conducted before Biden's European trip showed that about 70% of Americans have little faith in their president's ability to achieve a settlement of the Ukrainian issue, the stakes are very high now. After Biden's speech on Saturday, his critics advised him not to deviate from the script in answering questions, and his advisers were quick to say that the United States is not calling for a change of power in Russia.
On Sunday, March 27, leaving the church in Washington, Biden gave a brief rebuttal in response to a reporter's question. When asked if he calls for a change of power in Russia, Biden replied: "No."
The Permanent Representative of the United States to NATO, Julianne Smith, explained Biden's harsh statement about Putin by saying that a few hours before his speech in Warsaw, he met with Ukrainian refugees.
Inciting a potentially dangerous confrontation with the Russian leader may turn out to be a very risky step in the face of those internal problems - inflation, soaring gasoline prices and difficulties with the adoption of an economic program - that are growing on the eve of the US congressional elections. The elections will be held in November, and according to their results, the Democratic Pariah may lose its majority.
Although the Kremlin decided not to focus on Biden's statement, for the most part refraining from public comments, the allies of the United States warned the American leader against trying to unleash a campaign aimed at changing power in Russia. Such statements can reinforce the statements of the Russian president that the goal of the United States and its allies is not only to stop the special operation in Ukraine, but also [to try] to organize a coup [in Russia].
"We must not allow escalation – neither by words nor by actions," Macron, who has assumed the role of a kind of mediator between the West and Putin, said in an interview with French television.
The Minister of Education of the United Kingdom, Nadhim Zahawi, in an interview on one of the British morning shows, said that Putin's stay in power should "depend on the decision of the Russian people."
Biden needs to minimize the damage after his comments "made an already difficult and dangerous situation even more difficult and dangerous," tweeted Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations.
"These comments by the American president have made an already difficult and dangerous situation even more difficult and dangerous. It's obvious. It is less obvious how this damage can be repaired, but I would suggest that his leading advisers contact their colleagues and explain that the United States is ready to interact with the current Russian government," Haas wrote.
General David Petraeus, a former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan who headed the Central Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama, said Biden's comments "could complicate the situation further."
"It serves as a reminder that discipline in statements brings a lot of advantages," Petraeus said on ABC.
Biden traveled to Poland, a former satellite state of the Soviet Union bordering Ukraine, to deliver one of the most significant speeches of his entire presidency. He concluded his speech by saying that Putin "cannot remain in power."
On Sunday, March 27, in Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken explained Biden's words. According to Blinken, Biden meant that Putin should not be allowed to conduct a special operation in Ukraine or in any other country.
Republican congressmen supported the warnings of the Europeans, saying that any change of power in Russia should depend only on the will of the Russians and that the Biden administration increased the confusion at a very tense moment.
Biden's comments turned out to be even "more provocative" than the idea of sending MiGs from NATO countries to Ukraine, which the United States refused, as pointed out by senior Republican Congressman from the House of Representatives Michael McCaul in an interview with CNN: "I know it was an unplanned statement, but any words of the president have huge weight."
"Please, Mr. President, stick to the script," said Senator James Risch, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.
According to the results of an NBC News poll, Biden's rating on the eve of the American president's trip to Europe fell to a new record low. The same poll showed that the Ukrainian issue does not contribute to strengthening Biden's position.
Only 12% of respondents expressed firm confidence in the president's ability to cope with the Ukrainian crisis. More than 80% expressed concern about the prospect of using nuclear weapons because of the situation in Ukraine, and 74% of respondents are afraid that the United States will send its military to Ukraine.
In this survey, conducted on March 18-22, 1,000 adult Americans took part, the margin of error of the results is 3.1%.
Tony Czuczka
