President Joe Biden s apparent call for Vladimir Putin s exit reverberated instantly around the world, sparking an administration rush to course correct and risks scrambling US efforts to rally a united front on the Ukraine conflict.Biden s comment that the Russian president cannot remain in power delivered in Warsaw at the close of three days of marathon diplomacy was termed a horrendous gaffe by one Republican senator.A senior US analyst said it could have the effect of lengthening the war.And even France s president warned such language could escalate a conflict the United States and its NATO allies have sought at all costs to contain, and undercut Western efforts to help suffering Ukrainians.The remark came as Biden wound up a forceful speech on Saturday capping what had been a widely praised European visit, aimed at presenting a determined front against Russia s invasion.His ad libbed words For God s sake, this man cannot remain power caught even US advisors off guard.The White House sprung immediately into action, clarifying within minutes that Biden was not advocating regime change in Russia.
When asked by reporters Sunday if that was what he was calling for, the president replied: No. But the comments by Biden who hours earlier called Putin a butcher drew predictable fury from Moscow, raised eyebrows in allied countries, and sent the president s advisors into high gear to mollify the criticism.No regime change US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Jerusalem, joined in forcefully denying Biden was calling for Putin s ouster.Biden s point, Blinken said, was that Putin cannot be empowered to wage war, or engage in aggression against Ukraine, or anyone else. The choice of Russia s leader, Blinken said, is up to the Russians. The administration sent out the US ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, to underscore the same message stating across multiple TV networks that the US does not have a policy of regime change towards Russia, full stop. Biden s comments, Smith told CNN s State of the Union, were a principled human reaction to the stories that he had heard during an emotional visit with Ukrainian refugees.But President Emmanuel Macron of France, a close US ally who has spoken frequently with Putin since the invasion, warned the West not to escalate in words or actions or risk hampering vital humanitarian efforts, including hopes of evacuating the devastated city of Mariupol.