Biden implicitly calls on Putin to step down

U.S. President Joe Biden made a harsh comment to imply a resignation or oust of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the main culprit behind the Ukraine War. Russia shelled Lviv, a western Ukrainian city only 60 kilometers from the borders with Poland on Saturday (local time) even when President Biden made a visit to a Polish border area near Ukraine. Poland is situated at the most eastern part of the NATO territory.

President Biden said in an address in the Polish capital of Warsaw on Saturday that President Putin cannot remain in power. This remark was made at the last part of the speech describing Putin as a dictator and emphasizing that the free world will not succumb to Russia’s invasive acts. However, the White House explained right after the speech that President Biden went “off-script” with his comments, clarifying that he meant that President Putin should not exercise power over neighboring nations but did not intend to mention change of regime in Russia.

In a summit talk with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Saturday, President Biden confirmed the principle of collective defense among NATO member states as per the NATO’s Article 5 that if any member state comes under attack, other NATO states should automatically intervene. Describing it as a “sacred commitment,” the U.S. president urged NATO members to remain "absolutely, completely thoroughly united."

He went on to say that President Putin was confident about breaking up the NATO and separating eastern Europe from the West World but it did not happen.” He made it clear, however, that the U.S. forces will not join the ongoing war in Ukraine, saying, “Our forces are not engaged and will not engage in the conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine.”


Jae-Dong Yu jarrett@donga.com