Kremlin hits back at White House remark: Russians, not Biden, elect president of Russia

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
that it is not for US President Joe Biden to decide who should be in power in
Russia.

“That’s not for Biden to decide. The president of Russia is elected by
Russians,” Peskov told Reuters on Saturday, when asked to comment on Biden’s
words in Warsaw.

Earlier in the day, the visiting US president said in his speech in Poland
that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”

Later, the White House assured that in his speech on Ukraine Biden had not
called for regime change in Russia.

“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power
over his neighbors or the region,” a White House official said. “He was not
discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24
that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had
made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect
people “who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime
for eight years.”

The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian
territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and
demilitarization of Ukraine. West imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia.

TASS