U.S. President Joe Biden reportedly called for the ousting of Russian President Vladimir Putin March 26 as the war in Ukraine rages on.
"For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden announced at the very conclusion of a capstone address delivered at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, CNN reported March 26.
A White House official said Biden's remark that Putin "cannot remain in power" was not in his prepared remarks, CNN reported.
“The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change," a White House official said, according to CNN.
U.S. officials previously said removing Putin from power was not their goal, CNN reported.
The Kremlin responded saying what happens in Russia is not left to Biden, according to CNN.
“This is not to be decided by Mr. Biden," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "It should only be a choice of the people of the Russian Federation.”
Biden said the Russian people were not the enemy said in his March 26 address, according to his remarks posted by the White House.
“You were a 21st century nation with hopes and dreams that people all over the world have for themselves and their family,” Biden said, according to the White House transcript. “Now, Vladimir Putin’s aggression has cut you, the Russian people, off from the rest of the world, and it’s taking Russia back to the 19th century.”
