Biden writes US not seeking Putin ouster

President Biden said in an op-ed published Tuesday that the United States would not try to oust Russian President Vladimir Putin from his position of power because of his invasion of Ukraine.  

“We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow,” Biden wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Tuesday evening. 

“So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces,” the president wrote, standing firm in his pledge not to send U.S. troops to fight directly in the conflict.  

Biden made waves when he declared in Warsaw at the end of March that Putin “cannot remain in power.” While the White House sought to clean up the unplanned remark by saying the U.S. was not seeking regime change in Russia, Biden stood by his comments and said days later he was expressing “moral outrage.”  

The passage in the op-ed was a renewed effort by the White House to make clear it is not seeking regime change in Moscow.  

In the Times piece, Biden also announced plans to send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, saying that the U.S. goal was to ensure a “democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine.”  

Biden also vowed that he would not pressure Ukraine’s government “in private or public” to make territorial concessions to Moscow in order to bring about an end to the war, which will enter its 100th day at the end of the week.  

“It would be wrong and contrary to well-settled principles to do so,” Biden wrote. He said the U.S. would support Ukraine’s hand at the negotiating table with Russia to bring an end to the conflict.  

While the U.S. has not sent forces into Ukraine to fight the Russians, it has provided substantial support to the Ukrainian military in the form of advanced weaponry. The U.S. has sent billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine and is readying another $700 million package.  

Congress has approved $40 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to help sustain the country over the coming months.