Joe Biden said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was an “outcast” who “clearly loses” the war in Ukraine, even if it is, according to the American president, too early to say if his Russian counterpart has been weakened by Wagner’s failed rebellion.
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Asked by journalists at the White House whether Vladimir Putin is now weakened, Joe Biden replied: “It’s hard to say, but he is clearly losing the war. »
The Russian president is now “a pariah across the planet”, he added.
Joe Biden nevertheless referred to Russia losing the war in “Iraq” instead of the war in Ukraine, a slip he made during a campaign meeting on Tuesday.
The American president then claimed to have succeeded in uniting Western countries against Moscow’s “assault” “against Iraq”.
Candidate for his re-election for 2024, Joe Biden is accustomed to blunders which are systematically noted by his most virulent Republican opponents, who want to see it as a sign of impaired mental faculties.
The White House remains cautious in commenting on the aftermath of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny last weekend in Russia, when his men seized military bases and marched on Moscow, before suddenly flip-flop.