28 March 2022 20:10

Politics

Excuses for Biden and Putin's paranoia: Foreign media digest fas of March 26-28

Authors

Olexandra Zakharova , Ksenia Lisna

The Western media continue to report about the war in Ukraine: on March 26-28, the media covered the attempts of the Americans to assure that they do not plan to overthrow Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia.

Meanwhile, the British public sector has been urged to sever ties with Moscowia, a British general fears the capture of Mariupol, and the West is worried that Putin might attack them after Biden's words.

offers an up-to-date review of what the European and American media are reporting, covering the 31st-33d days of the active Russian invasion.

US makes excuses for Biden: "We will not topple Putin"

Photo: Getty Images

The Washington Post reports that American officials scrambled to clarify Biden’s suggestion that Putin ‘cannot remain in power.’

Administration officials and lawmakers stressed on Sunday that the United States was not seeking regime change in Russia over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine despite President Biden’s comment that the Russian leader "cannot remain in power."

Capping a series of diplomatic summits in Europe, Biden delivered a speech on Saturday in Poland about the war in Ukraine. An apparently ad-libbed remark at the conclusion of his address — "For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power" — quickly eclipsed the rest of his speech.

Government officials — from the White House to senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill — were quick to say that the remark was not intended as a call for a regime change.

"We do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else, for that matter," Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured in Jerusalem. "It’s up to the Russian people."

Julianne Smith, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, told CNN that Biden’s remarks were "a principled human reaction" to the Ukrainian refugees he had met in Warsaw. She also stressed:

"The U.S. does not have a policy of regime change in Russia. Full stop."

Biden's statement plays into Putin's hands — Republicans

Photo: Getty Images

U.S. senior lawmakers maintained a similar position, with Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, saying he wished Mr. Biden "would stay on script."

Mr. Risch said that even suggesting regime change would inevitably "cause a huge problem," calling the remark a "horrendous gaffe" in an otherwise good speech.

"The administration has done everything they can to stop escalating — there’s not a whole lot more you can do to escalate than to call for a regime change," he told CNN.

Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, told NBC that the comment "plays into the hands of the Russian propagandists and plays into the hands of Vladimir Putin," though he described the speech as "very strong."

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, echoed comments from the White House.

"It is up to the Russian people to determine who is going to be in power in the Kremlin."

Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said:

"The fact is, anytime the United States spoke out for a regime change, it hasn’t worked out so well. I know it was off the cuff, but whatever the president says, it carries a lot of weight."

British public sector urges to sever all ties with Russia

Photo: Wikipedia

BBC reports that public sector bodies in the UK have been asked to review any contracts they have with Russian firms and consider switching suppliers.

The Cabinet Office issued guidance to hospitals, councils and other organizations across the public sector.

It urged them to look at all the ways they can go further to sever their commercial ties to Russia.

"Public money should not fund Putin's war machine," Cabinet Office Minister, Steve Barclay, said.

He added that most existing contracts were for energy and could benefit the Russian state.

The Kremlin sees no point in Zelenskyy-Putin meeting

Collage The Page

The BBC also quoted Russian Foreign Minister Serget Lavrov, who believes that now there is no point in a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia.

In particular, Lavrov stated that a meeting between bloodthirsty dictator Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be "counterproductive" right now.

According to the Moscow Minister, any meeting between the two leaders should happen once the two sides are closer to agreeing on key issues.

On forthcoming talks between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey, Lavrov adds he'd like negotiations "to be fruitful".

Paranoid Putin may respond to Biden with an attack

Photo: Getty Images

Sky News reports that, according to experts, a "paranoid" Putin may very likely order hostile acts after Biden's remark.

The fallout has been continuing following the U.S. President’s seemingly off-the-cuff comment in which he said Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power".

Some analysts have suggested the remark will have very little impact on the Russian leader's actions in Ukraine, which they believe will mainly be determined by his perceived domestic concerns and the pressure to avoid a humiliating military defeat.

However, others said the statement could potentially provoke Russia into doing more hostile acts outside Ukraine.

Samuel Charap, a Russia expert at Rand Corp, told the Washington Post that White House attempts to walk back the suggestion of a US goal of regime change would do little to change views in Moscow because Putin has long believed the US wants to replace him.

"It exacerbates existing threat perceptions regarding US intentions," he told The Washington Post.

Michael McFaul, who served as US ambassador in Moscow, said Mr Putin would see he claims as confirming his long held beliefs.

"Putin has been paranoid about the West seeking regime change against his government for a long time."

Putin will not be able to topple Zelensky — British general

Sky News also quotes former chief of the general staff General Lord Richard Dannatt as saying that Vladimir Putin's plans to topple the Ukrainian government will have to be scrapped.

Putin now has to accept President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will stay in power in Kyiv after Russia failed to mount a full invasion of the capital, General says.

"I think we all recognise and even Vladimir Putin now must recognise that his special military operation, so-called, has not gone well," Lord Richard added.

However, he fears that Russia's "might" will likely start to wear down the Ukrainian military as the war continues and Mariupol may be captured by Russian invaders.

Germany warns Russia, but NATO is not going to fight

Photo: Getty Images

CNN quotes German chancellor Olaf Scholz as saying that the invasion of Ukraine is "the return to imperialism."

"We all need to prepare for the fact that we have a neighbor who is now using violence," Scholz said.

According to him, Germany is discussing the purchase of a missile defense system. At the same time, Scholz warned Moscow:

"Don't dare to attack us."

He admitted that Zelensky is right to demand help from everybody in the world, but stressed once again:

"We will not engage with military forces — even if you call them peacekeeping troops — and we will not establish a no-fly zone."

Such measures would be the start of a "huge confrontation between NATO and Russia," he added, that’s why NATO will not be part of this war. At the same time, NATOis ready for dramatic measures in case Moscow uses biological and chemical weapons.

Continued expulsions of diplomats

Photo: Getty Images

Reuters reports that Russia has decided to expel three Slovak diplomats in response to the expulsion of three employees of the Russian embassy in Slovakia and ordered them to leave the country within 72 hours.

Earlier in March, Slovakia expelled three employees of the Russian embassy based on information from its intelligence agencies.

At the same time, according to the outlet, North Macedonia declared five Russian diplomats persona non grata for violating diplomatic norms and ordered them to leave the country within five days.

The Russian ambassador in the country was informed the five people have carried out activities that are contrary to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and had to leave, the North Macedonian Foreign Ministry said.

The country has also joined international sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Instead of an afterword. Joe Biden's remark that the Putin regime must fall, although it voiced the opinion of the civilized world, may aggravate Vladimir Putin's paranoia and forced American politicians to make excuses. At the same time, it exposes NATO's fears of an attack on their countries, while intimidating Ukraine continuing to lose people and infrastructure is already difficult.

Any NATO’s "radical measures" in relation to Moscow are so far promised only in the case of using biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine, while the Chernobyl zone is already in a state of humanitarian and environmental catastrophe, and there are risks of a radiation catastrophe, including in Europe. Also, the invaders continue to bombard Ukraine with missiles without hesitation, drop banned cluster bombs on cities and forcibly deport our citizens to Russia.

Further attempts to suppress the Kremlin economically and cut off commercial and diplomatic ties, in particular by exposing spies among Russian representatives in European countries, are not a bad sign, but the fears of British generals about the exhaustion of the Ukrainian army also do not come out of nowhere. Ukraine has been fighting for its independence for 33 days.