Topline
President Joe Biden sought to rally the world’s democracies for what he said would be a long fight against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine during a speech in Warsaw on Saturday, and wrapped up a forceful indictment of Vladimir Putin for what he described as an assault on the rules-based international order that has prevailed since World War II with what appeared to be a call for the Russian leader to be removed from power.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech about the Russian war in Ukraine at the Royal Castle in … [+]
Key Facts
“This battle will not be won in days or months,” Biden said at the beginning of his speech, and toward the end, urged Western democracies to “commit to being in this fight for the long haul.”
Biden warned Russia, “Don’t even think about going on one single inch of NATO territory,” hours after assuring the United States’ “sacred commitment” to the alliance’s Article 5 collective defense principle.
Biden called Putin’s claim that he’s de-nazifying Ukraine ridiculous, noting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish and that his family suffered during World War II.
Biden addressed Russians directly, saying, “You, the Russian people, are not our enemy.”
Condemning Putin’s actions, Biden said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
The White House sought to walk back what appeared to be a call by the president for Putin’s ouster, with an administration official saying: “The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakim/2022/03/26/biden-calls-for-putins-ousterurges-democracies-to-commit-to-long-fight-ahead-in-ukraine/