Joe Biden makes bold Putin declaration: 'Cannot stay in power'
US president Joe Biden has fired a major shot across the bow of Vladimir Putin.
In a fiery address delivered in Poland, the 79-year-old took the extraordinary step of declaring that the Russian president "cannot remain in power".
In a sign the US is sharpening its stance on the dictator, Mr Biden built the case for the world's democracies to urgently confront an autocratic Russia as a threat to global security and freedom.
"A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty. Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia," he said.
"We will have a different future — a brighter future rooted in democracy and principle, hope and light, of decency and dignity, of freedom and possibilities."
But it was just six words in the penultimate line of the speech which had everyone talking.
"For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power."
Mr Biden's comments on Saturday (local time), including a statement earlier in the day calling Putin a "butcher," were a sharp escalation in White House rhetoric.
After the bold assertion raised eyebrows, a White House official later said it was meant to prepare the world's democracies for extended conflict over Ukraine, rather than explicitly backing regime change in Russia, Reuters reported.
"The President's point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region," the official said. "He was not discussing Putin's power in Russia, or regime change."
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'The world heard it'
Nonetheless, many observers said the cat was now out of the bag.
"No matter what President Biden meant by his words, he just started a worldwide conversation about Putin being removed from power," tweeted Scott Dworkin, a media figure and operative for the US Democratic party.
Despite the efforts of the White House to walk back the declaration, it was "too late", said Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin.
"The world heard it. No way to unring that bell."
'Long fight ahead': Biden
Calling the fight against Putin a "new battle for freedom," the US president said Putin's desire for "absolute power" was a strategic failure for Russia and a direct challenge to a European peace that has largely prevailed since World War II.
"The West is now stronger, more united than it has ever been," Mr Biden said. "This battle will not be won in days or months, either. We need to steel ourselves for the long fight ahead."
The speech came after three days of meetings in Europe with the G7, European Council and NATO allies, and took place roughly at the same time as rockets rained down on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, just 60 kilometres from the Polish border.
Russia hits back over speech remarks
Responding to a question from a Reuters journalist, a Russian spokesperson rubbished Mr Biden's suggestion of regime change.
"That's not for Biden to decide. The president of Russia is elected by Russians," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The US appears content to see a protracted conflict which weakens and further isolates Russia but speculation over the fate of Vladimir Putin has begun to bubble up in recent days as the invasion struggles against a defiant Ukrainian population.
However those inside the Kremlin who could potentially take over from Putin may not be much better from a Western perspective, according to Associate Professor Matthew Sussex, a Russian political expert from the Australian National University.
"One of the things you have to worry about is ... are the alternatives worse? And in many cases the answer is yes," he told Yahoo News Australia this week.
with Reuters
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