Rosalind Evans
President Joe Biden has articulated that the recent rebellion led by the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has “undoubtedly” diminished the strength of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This statement constitutes his most concrete commentary to date regarding the impact of the short-lived insurrection on Putin’s authority.
Despite their cautious approach towards the unfolding events in Russia, to prevent providing Putin with any pretext to allege a Western conspiracy against him, Biden and his team expounded on their beliefs about Putin’s dwindling power
“Though it’s tough to gauge, he’s unmistakably on the losing side,” Biden told the White House South Lawn press, mistakenly referencing the war in Iraq instead of Ukraine.
Biden emphasized Putin’s local and global setbacks, saying, “He’s failing in his own country. He’s increasingly being seen as a pariah globally. And it’s not limited to just NATO or the European Union, but extends to Japan.”
When queried once more on whether Putin’s power is lesser now than it was a week ago, Biden responded confidently: “I am certain that he is.”
Biden made clear that while the U.S. does not seek confrontation with Russia, it will not shy away from standing up for its principles and allies. He noted that these turbulent times have shown Putin’s domestic and international vulnerabilities and stressed that the U.S. would closely monitor the developments. “We don’t want to accelerate tensions, but we’ll be steadfast in supporting democracy and stability, both in Ukraine and elsewhere,” Biden said.
