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WASHINGTON — President Biden on Monday stood by his remark that Vladimir V. Putin shouldn’t stay president of Russia, however stated it was a private expression of shock and never a change in American coverage geared toward looking for to take away Mr. Putin from workplace.
“I used to be expressing the ethical outrage I felt towards this man,” Mr. Biden informed reporters, rejecting criticism that he misspoke. He stated nobody ought to have interpreted his feedback as calling for Mr. Putin’s ouster.
“It’s ridiculous,” he stated, clearly irritated on the questions throughout an occasion during which he unveiled his 2023 price range. “No person believes I used to be speaking about taking down Putin. No person believes that.”
“I used to be expressing my outrage that he shouldn’t stay in energy,” he stated, “identical to you understand that dangerous individuals shouldn’t proceed to do dangerous issues.”
The president’s remarks got here two days after he declared throughout a speech in Warsaw: “For God’s sake, this man can’t stay in energy,” an ad-libbed remark on the finish of his three-day diplomatic blitz in Europe.
It took simply minutes for the White Home to again away from Mr. Biden’s feedback in Warsaw that night. Reporters had simply loaded buses following his speech when an administration official despatched an e mail denying that the president was formally advocating Mr. Putin’s elimination.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken informed journalists in Jerusalem that “we would not have a method of regime change in Russia or anyplace else, for that matter.”
Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, stated the Kremlin would “proceed to carefully monitor” any statements made by Biden.
In his first prolonged feedback on the matter, Mr. Biden insisted Monday that he had not “walked again” his remark.
“The very last thing I wish to do is interact in a land battle or a nuclear battle with Russia,” Mr. Biden stated. “I used to be expressing my outrage on the conduct of this man. It’s outrageous. It’s outrageous. It’s extra an aspiration than something. He should not be in energy. Individuals like this shouldn’t be ruling nations, however the truth they do doesn’t imply I can’t categorical my outrage.”
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