War Room News Inputs Assisted by Mike Baruah, North America Corespondent.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday doubled down on the position that the US does not have a strategy for a regime change in Russia, a day after President Joe Biden’s fiery speech in Poland.
“I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else,” Blinkin said at a news conference in Jerusalem, per USA Today.
“As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia, or anywhere else, for that matter,” he added.
Blinken’s remarks come after Biden said during a Saturday speech in Warsaw that Russian President Vladimir Putin Cannot Remain In Power.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said.
The White House quickly walked back Biden’s comments, clarifying that Biden’s “point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.”
During his speech, Biden also warned Putin to not Even Think About Moving On One Single Inch Of NATO Territory.
“In this case, as in any case, it’s up to the people of the country in question, it’s up to the Russian people,” Blinken told reporters, according to the BBC
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US clarification to NATO: In the latest effort to clarify President Joe Biden’s statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”, the US envoy to NATO said on Sunday that the United States did not have a policy of regime change in Russia. Julianne Smith sought to contextualise Biden’s remarks in Poland on Saturday, saying they followed a day of speaking with Ukrainian refugees. Russia’s month-old invasion has driven a quarter of Ukraine’s population of 44 million from their homes. “In the moment, I think that was a principled human reaction to the stories that he had heard that day,” Smith told CNN’s “State of the Union” programme before adding: “The US does not have a policy of regime change in Russia. Full stop.”
