US President Joe Biden called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “genocide” on Tuesday, the first time he has done so publicly since the start of the war.
“Your family budget, your ability to fill your tank, none of this should depend on whether the dictator declares war and commits genocide in half the world,” he said in Iowa, where he announced a modest step toward lowering gasoline prices. .
Biden later spoke about Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
“I called it genocide because it’s becoming clearer [Russian President Vladimir] “Putin is just trying to erase the idea of being a Ukrainian, and the evidence is growing,” he told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One to return to Washington.
“We will let the lawyers decide internationally whether they meet the requirements or not, but I definitely think so.”
Biden’s comments drew praise from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who encouraged Western leaders to use the term to describe Russia’s invasion of his country.
The true words of a true leader
– @ ZelenskyyUa
Under international law, genocide is the intention to destroy – in whole or in part – a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. According to the United Nations, this includes killings, serious bodily or mental injuries and the infliction of deadly conditions and birth control measures, among other means.
A woman pulls her bags past houses damaged during the fighting in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 8. Putin has shown disobedience to Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Alexei Alexandrov / Associated Press)
Genocide, considered the most serious international crime, was used for the first time to describe the Holocaust. It was established in 1948 as a crime under international law in a UN convention.
Since the end of the Cold War, the US State Department has officially used the term seven times. They were to describe the massacres in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfur; Islamic State attacks on Yazidis and other minorities; China’s attitude towards Uighurs and other Muslims again this year towards the persecution of the Rohingya by the Myanmar army. China denies allegations of genocide.
In the State Department, such a decision usually follows a thorough internal process. However, the final decision depends on the Secretary of State, who is assessing whether the move will contribute to US interests, officials said.
Biden made several statements about the war, from which American officials later had to return. The president sparked controversy during a recent trip to Poland, when he said at the end of his speech that Putin should not stay in power. The White House clarified that US policy is not to seek regime change.
Putin defends the invasion
Putin, who has largely disappeared from public view after his forces were expelled from the approaches to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv this month, reappeared on Tuesday to defend his “noble” invasion of Ukraine and said peace talks were reached a dead end.
Speaking at a press conference at Russia’s Vostochny space base in Russia’s Far East, six time zones, Putin said: “Moscow has no choice but to intervene to protect separatists, defeat neo-Nazis and help neo-Nazis.” people. ” “
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks while Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, and Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin listen during Putin’s visit to the Vostochny spaceport in the Amur region of Russia’s Far East on Tuesday. (Evgeny Biyatov / Sputnik / AFP / Getty Images)
Russia’s economy is on its feet despite Western sanctions, he added, adding that signs of war crimes allegedly committed by Russian troops were falsely staged by the West. As for the conversations: “We are back at a dead end for us.”
Putin was accompanied by his ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, to mark the anniversary of the Soviet success in launching the first manned space flight.
Asked by Russian space agency officials whether the operation in Ukraine would achieve its goals, Putin said: “Absolutely. I have no doubt at all.
“His goals are absolutely clear and noble,” he said. “We had no choice. That was the right decision.”
Russia, he said, would continue its operation “rhythmically and calmly”.
Peace talks
Putin, who was ubiquitous on Russian television in the early days of the war, has largely withdrawn from public view after Moscow withdrew its troops from northern Ukraine this month.
His only public appearance last week was at the funeral of a nationalist lawmaker, where he gave brief remarks and did not address the war directly. On Monday, he met with Austria’s visiting chancellor at a rural residence outside Moscow, but photos of the meeting have not been released.
In the strongest signal so far that the war will last longer, Putin said on Tuesday that Kyiv had derailed the peace talks by staging what he said were false allegations of Russian war crimes and seeking security guarantees to cover the whole of Ukraine. .
“We are back at a dead end for us,” he said.
Adviser to Ukrainian President Mykhailo Podoliak, asked about Putin’s comments, said the talks had been very difficult but continued.
Podoliak told Reuters that Russia was trying to put pressure on the talks with its public statements and that the talks were continuing at the level of working subgroups.
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