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US President Biden in Warsaw: "A dictator who wants to rebuild an empire can never extinguish people's love for freedom"
Photo: RADEK PIETRUSZKA / EPA
According to US President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin should no longer remain in office.
"For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden said in Warsaw, without explicitly mentioning the Russian president at this point.
In his speech at the end of a two-day visit to Poland, however, Biden mentioned Putin several times by name, and at times he simply referred to him as a “dictator”.
With the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Putin made a strategic mistake, said Biden.
"A dictator who wants to rebuild an empire can never extinguish people's love for freedom," Biden said.
"Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, because free people refused to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness," he stressed.
The courageous Ukrainians have shown that the power of many is greater than that of a single dictator.
"Never give up hope, don't get tired, don't be discouraged and don't be afraid".
US President addresses Russian people directly
Biden also appealed directly to the people of Russia to distance themselves from the war.
"You, the Russian people, are not our enemy," Biden said.
But the Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine, which have forced millions to flee, are not befitting of a great nation.
"That's not who you are, that's not the future you deserve for your family," Biden said.
"This war is not worthy of you." He recalled that 200,000 Russians had already left their homeland.
Biden gave his historic speech at the end of his two-day trip to Poland.
At a meeting with Poland's President Andrzej Duda, he assured Poland that NATO would remain loyal to the alliance.
tfb/dpa/AFP
