Following criticisms that Joe Biden’s statement, “Putin cannot remain in power” bolstered the Kremlin, a UK cabinet official excludes the government from the statement.
After Biden’s unguarded remarks at a speech in Poland on Saturday, UK’s Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said it was “for the Russian people to decide how they are governed.”
On Sunday, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge, “I think that’s up to the Russian people.”
He continued by saying, “the Russian people, I think, are pretty fed up with what is happening in Ukraine, this illegal invasion, the destruction of their own livelihoods, their economy is collapsing around them and I think the Russian people will decide the fate of Putin and his cronies.”
Others have expressed concerns that Putin may gain domestic support as a result of Biden’s speech.
Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the Commons defense select committee, said the statement was “unwise,” and that Putin would “spin this, dig in, and fight harder.”
