US President Joe Biden raised the tone on Thursday against his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, describing him as a “murderous dictator” who has authorized “inhuman” attacks on Ukraine.
Source: EFE
The US president used those words a day after calling Putin a “war criminal” for Russia’s tactics in its invasion of Ukraine, something the Kremlin considered “unacceptable and inexcusable.”
“(Putin is) a murderous dictator, a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine,” Biden said during a congressional luncheon on the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day, the patron saint of Ireland.
Shortly before, Biden also directly condemned the Russian president during a virtual meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office.
“Putin’s brutality and what his troops are doing in Ukraine is simply inhumane,” the US president said.
On Wednesday, Biden for the first time described Putin as a “war criminal,” something his spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, blamed on Russia’s “barbaric actions” during its invasion of Ukraine.
The spokeswoman clarified that for now the State Department has not made a formal statement accusing Russia of having committed war crimes, and that the “legal” review on that issue “is still ongoing” at the headquarters of US diplomacy.
The United States said earlier this month that it is “documenting” Russian attacks in Ukraine and their impact on civilians to ensure that Russia is “accountable” if it is found to have committed war crimes.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, stressed on Wednesday that the attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine are “a crime” that his office could investigate.
Biden’s Thursday meeting with the Irish prime minister was part of a tradition that had been interrupted during the pandemic, with Ireland’s leader visiting Washington annually on St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate Irish heritage in the US. USA
However, both leaders were unable to meet in person because Martin tested positive for covid-19 on Wednesday night, when he was already in Washington, so he had to speak with Biden by videoconference from the official House guest house. White, called Blair House.
“Last year we met virtually from both sides of the Atlantic. This year, from both sides of the same street. So, we are getting closer,” the Irish Prime Minister joked during the meeting.
