White House clarifies what Biden says about Putin in Warsaw

The White House has said that US President Joe Biden’s declaration that Russia’s Vladimir Putin “can not remain in power” was not a call for regime change. On Saturday, Biden escalated his rhetoric against Putin as he apparently called for the Russian leader’s removal because of his invasion of Ukraine."The president's point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region," a White House official said. "He was not discussing Putin's power in Russia, or regime change." The official added that Biden's line was not in his prepared remarks in which the US president said that Putin is lying in a bid to justify the war. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden’s said earlier. Biden chided Russia’s action in Ukraine saying "It's nothing less than a direct challenge to the rules-based international order established since the end of World War II, and it threatens to return to decades of war that ravaged Europe before the international rule-based order was put in place. We cannot go back to that. We cannot."

US Presidet Biden in Warsaw:

- 'Swift and punishing' costs are the only things that will get Russia to change its course
- NATO is a defensive alliance; it has never sought Russia's demise
- World must prepare for ‘long fight ahead’ pic.twitter.com/iQtxoOS7EY

— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 26, 2022

Biden’s remark prompted a swift reaction from Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov who said it is not to be decided by Biden. "This is not to be decided by Biden," Peskov said. "It should only be a choice of the people of the Russian Federation."