Newsman: The US President Joe Biden delivered forceful remarks Saturday from Poland that reiterated the United States’ and its allies’ support for Ukraine and said that the war has been a “strategic failure” for Russia.
Speaking in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday President Joe Biden said,
“A criminal wants to portray NATO enlargement as an imperial project aimed at destabilizing Russia” Nothing is further from the truth. NATO is a defensive alliance. It has never sought the demise of Russia. Let us remember that the test of this moment is the test of all time, He added.
President Biden said, Russia wanted less of a NATO presence on its border but now he has a stronger presence, a larger presence with over 100,000 American troops here along with all the other members of NATO. In fact, Russia has managed to cause something I’m sure he never intended. It’s not only Russia’s actions in Ukraine that are reminding us of democracy’s blessing.
Biden pledged that democracy will prevail and told all freedom-loving nations that “we must commit now to be in this fight for the long haul.”
Biden in his speech sent a strong message for Russian President Vladimir Putin,
“[D]on’t even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory,” Biden said. “We have a sacred obligation under Article 5 to defend each and every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power.”
President Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
“My message to the people of Ukraine is a message I delivered today to Ukraine’s foreign minister and defense minister, who I believe are here tonight. We stand with you. Period”!Biden said.
After meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, Biden gave a formal address to a crowd in front of Warsaw’s Royal Castle, opening with words from the Polish Pope John Paul II: “Be not afraid.”
Biden’s visit to Poland to meet with both Ukrainian and Polish officials comes just as He committed to continuing to aid the fight against Russia.
“This battle will not be won in days or months either. We need to steel ourselves for the long fight ahead,” Biden said.
Biden spoke about the U.S. sanctions on Russia and said they have damaged the Russian economy.
“The ruble was reduced to rubble,” he said.
Biden spoke for nearly 30 minutes at the Royal Castle in Warsaw to an audience including Polish President Andrzej Duda, members of parliament, local officials, students from local universities and U.S. embassy staff, according to the White House.
President Joe Biden also spoke on the phone with Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya from Air Force One, the White House said Saturday.
Biden “underscored the continued support of the United States for the Belarusian people in defending and advancing human rights, including freedom of expression, and free and fair elections,” the readout of the call stated.
Tsikhanouskaya attended Biden’s address in Warsaw on Saturday, according to the readout.
Belarus has served as a staging area for Russian attacks on Ukraine during the war. Its president, Alexander Lukashenko, is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US President said, there’s simply no justification or provocation for Russia’s choice of war. It’s an example, one of the oldest human impulses, using brute force and disinformation to satisfy a craving for absolute power and control. It’s nothing less than a direct challenge to the rule-based international order established since the end of World War II. And it threatens to return to decades of war that ravaged Europe before the international rule-based order was put in place.
We cannot go back to that Biden said. ‘We cannot.’ The gravity of the threat is why the response of the West has been so swift and so powerful and so unified, unprecedented and overwhelming. Swift and punishing costs are the only thing that are going to get Russia to change its course, he sai.
These international sanctions are sapping Russian strength, its ability to replenish its military, and its ability to project power. And it’s Putin, it is Vladimir Putin who is to blame. Period.Biden said.
Time and again history shows that. It’s from the darkness moments that the greatest progress follows. And history shows this is the task of our time, the task of this generation. Let’s remember the hammer blow that brought down the Berlin Wall, the might that lifted the Iron Curtain were not the words of a single leader, it was the people of Europe, who for decades fought to free themselves. We will have a different future, a brighter future, rooted in democracy and principle, hope and light. Of decency and dignity and freedom and possibilities. For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.
