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- US diplomats say White House not seeking regime change in Russia after Biden’s remarks
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
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US diplomats say White House not seeking regime change in Russia after Biden’s remarks
Top American diplomats have clarified that the United States does not have a policy of regime change in Russia, as supporters and critics of President Joe Biden played down his weekend declaration that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”.
Biden’s comments, made during a speech in Poland on Saturday (European time), included a statement calling Putin a “butcher” and appeared to be a sharp escalation of the White House’s approach to Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Credit:AP
But Julianne Smith, the US ambassador to NATO, has since sought to contextualise Biden’s remarks – saying they followed a day of speaking with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw. 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 program before adding: “The US does not have a policy of regime change in Russia. Full stop.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference in Jerusalem that Biden was making the point that Putin couldn’t be empowered to wage war. But Blinken said any decision on Russia’s future leadership would be “up to the Russian people”.
In the US, Republicans said Biden’s remarks amounted to an unfortunate blunder.
Senator James Risch, the top Republican on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Biden’s remarks a “horrendous gaffe” and said he wished the President would have stayed on script.
“Most people who don’t deal in the lane of foreign relations don’t realise those nine words that he uttered would cause the kind of eruption that they did,” he told CNN.
“It’s going to cause a huge problem.”
Senator Rob Portman, who is also on the committee, lamented the public misstep in wartime.
“It plays into the hands of the Russian propagandists and plays into the hands of Vladimir Putin. So it was a mistake,” Portman told NBC’s Meet the Press.
Reuters
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning and thanks for your company.
It’s Monday, March 28. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started.
- The federal budget is expected to extend support to first home buyers. Meanwhile, David Crowe writes that billions of dollars will be funnelled towards road and rail projects in Victoria. There will also be a $1 billion pledge for faster rail between Sydney and Newcastle. The budget will be officially unveiled tomorrow night.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is preparing to hand down the next federal budget. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
- The White House has clarified that it does not have an official policy of regime change in Russia. It comes after United States President Joe Biden said over the weekend that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot remain in power. Speaking from Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says whoever leads Russia is a decision for the Russian people.
US President Joe Biden speaking in Poland over the weekend. Credit:AP
- And in other news, the NSW government is preparing to delay several multibillion dollar mega projects due to labour shortages and rapidly escalating costs. Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission begins today. And the second black box from the wreckage of China Eastern flight MU5735 has been sent to Beijing for examination and analysis.
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