The Kremlin defends Putin: "It is not Biden who decides. The Russians elect their president."

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's press secretary, stressed that it is not for US President Joe Biden to decide who is in power in Russia, and that only the Russians choose their president, according to the Russian (Arti Arabic) channel.

Peskov said in response to Biden's statements during a speech in Warsaw: "It is not Biden who decides... the Russians are the ones who elect their country's president."

"For God's sake, this man can't stay in power," Biden said in a speech in Warsaw on Saturday, without mentioning the Russian president by name, although he did so at several other points during his speech.

Shortly thereafter, a senior White House official sought to make clear that the US president's comments were not a direct call for Putin's ouster.

"The president's view was that Putin could not be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region," the official said.

He wasn't discussing Putin's power in Russia, or regime change."

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