Scholz’s comment comes a day after US President Joe Biden said during a speech in the Polish capital Warsaw about Russian leader Vladimir Putin that he is “a butcher” who “cannot stay in power.” Biden’s comments caused a stir both inside and outside the United States. For example, French President Emmanuel Macron warned of further escalation of the war in Ukraine.
“I spoke to Biden for a long time during my visit to the White House and this issue was also under discussion,” the chancellor said. “Democracy, freedom and justice have a future everywhere, but people and countries must fight for this freedom themselves.”
Biden denied to reporters on Sunday that his comments called for a different regime in Russia. “No,” the US president said when the reporters asked him about it.
The White House also tried to make it clear that Biden was not calling for the overthrow of Putin, but that he was just saying that the Russian leader should not gain power over his neighbors.
