Joe Biden won't apologize for his comment that Vladimir Putin can't remain in power

Joe Biden won’t apologize for his comment that Vladimir Putin “can’t remain in power.” 

US President Joe Biden’s remark that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” drew severe rebukes in Moscow and sparked global outrage. “This man cannot remain in power,” Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech on Saturday.

On the other hand, Biden has stated that he will make “no apologies” and will not “walk anything back.” 

“I’m not walking anything back,” Biden said at the White House, stressing that he wasn’t expressing a policy change but rather an opinion based on his feelings that day. 

“I was expressing my moral outrage at the way Putin is dealing with this man and his conduct,” he stated.

He went on to say, “I’d just returned from being with those families” in Warsaw, Poland, referring to Ukrainian migrants. “I wasn’t expressing a policy change then, and I’m not expressing one today,” Biden added. 

According to CNN, he stated, “I make no apologies for it.” But, he claimed, “I was saying exactly what I stated — I was expressing my moral fury at this individual. I wasn’t advocating for a policy shift. And I believe that if he continues on this path, he will become a global pariah, and who knows what will happen in terms of support at home.”

“For God’s sake, this man (Putin) cannot remain in power,” Biden stated earlier. The White House then explained Biden’s words, saying they “weren’t a demand for regime change.” 

While clarifying Biden’s comments, a White House official said, “Putin cannot be allowed to exercise authority over his neighbors or the area, according to the President. He wasn’t talking about Putin’s power in Russia or the possibility of regime change.”

ACCORDING TO GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ, neither NATO nor US President Joe Biden seeks regime change in Russia. “This is not the goal of NATO, and it is not the goal of the American president,” Scholz said at a news conference when asked if Putin’s removal was the ultimate goal. “We both believe that regime change is not an object and goal of policy that we pursue jointly,” Scholz continued.