Biden calls Putin a 'war criminal'; Kremlin blasts in return
After Biden called Russia's President a war criminal, Kremlin retaliates, calling this rhetoric unacceptable from the leader of a country that has killed hundreds of thousands.
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Kremlin said the remarks were unacceptable and inexcusable
US President Joe Biden was asked by a White House correspondent whether or not he would call Russia's President a war criminal.
First Biden said no and walked out of the room, said correspondent Jacqui Heinrich.
"… but then he came back, clarified my question, and told me 'He IS a war criminal.'"
🚨This marks the first time the administration has referred to the Russian President as a war criminal - until now, officials have shied away from that language.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 16, 2022
POTUS tells me “I think he is a war criminal”
(Thanks to @kwelkernbc for the camera work 🎥) pic.twitter.com/u4fLdkxMbt
Later on, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that Biden's remarks on Putin speak for themselves, adding that he was "speaking from his heart and speaking from what he’s seen on television which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country. There is a legal process that continues to be underway at the State Department."
The Kremlin released a statement replying to Biden's remarks, saying it was unacceptable as the remark came from the leader of a country whose bombs killed thousands of people.
"We consider such rhetoric of the head of state, whose bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, unacceptable and inexcusable," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
