Currently Online 
Cobretti2 said:
However, the White House were quick to correct his remarks and said Mr Biden “was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change”. “The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region,” the official said. == This is a shit show, US handing out mixed messages. Wonder what the Ukrainians think. |
To be fair, it’s not just the US. European leaders like Boris Johnson saying tanks should be sent to Ukraine only to be immediately contradicted by Macron.
Assuming Biden was speaking “off-the-cuff”, I think the White House team shot themselves in the foot by immediately rowing back. There’s also the almost hilarity of the Krelim saying the Russian president is chosen by the Russian people. You mean chosen by the Krelim itself, anyone who stands for election who is deemed a threat gets arrested - see Nalvany.
I was hoping last Thursday’s Nato summit would lead to a more consist and coherent message plus harder sanctions but it seems to have only led to more conjecture. The UK’s Liz Truss has now set out the terms for sanctions being removed - poor timing on her part. The conversation needs to remain centred on ratcheting up sanctions, not when and how they will be lifted and it sets a different tone to the conversation.
