On Monday, Western NATO allies France and Germany tamped down President Biden’s Saturday assertion that regime change is needed in Russia, a statement the White House immediately retracted. Nevertheless, world leaders felt the need to respond to Biden’s statement by suggesting his words “could make it harder to resolve the conflict,” the Associated Press reported.
French President Emanuel Macron feared Biden’s remarks could embolden Putin and escalate the Ukrainian war. Macron urged caution from the U.S.
“I wouldn’t use those terms, because I continue to speak to President Putin, because what do we want to do collectively?” Macron said. “We want to stop the war that Russia launched in Ukraine, without waging war and without escalation.”
