Oddly enough, President Biden is receiving strong opinion polls that the USA should be doing more to end the killing by Russia in Ukraine. President Biden does not want to open threatening doors to Putin. He isn't getting that fact across to the American people.
President Biden is a 180 degree turn from the previous administration in providing much needed munitions to Ukraine. He also does not want to open up a more violent war that could be a profoundly upsetting issue for all the people of the world. I think President Biden's predictions about Russian aggression have been spot on. I also believe his knowledge of these circumstances is excellent and his approach is measured as it should be.
The Finland President paid a visit to President Putin after the illegal and threatening fly over by Russia of war games between Finland and Sweden. Vladimir Putin clearly understood the deaths taking place in Ukraine, but, admitted nothing and blamed the Ukraine military for those deaths even in the face of the fact there is a filming that proves Russian forces are responsible for the deaths. There is genocide occurring in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin clearly knows that and simply denies it as if nothing Russia has done could have killed all the dead in Ukraine.
There is an aspect to Putin those in disbelief need to remember, that is the friends he is keeping are ruthless killers. Assad and the Saudi Prince are among those friends. They are ruthless and Putin is in that group of untrustworthy leaders of countries that are mostly considered to be hostile in their policies. Saudi Arabia proved there is no freedom of speech in the heinous assassination of a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi (click here). I also remind that Putin does not allow negative commentary about himself by anyone. It seems as though Putin is passing on that directive to other leaders.
The response by Ukraine, normally a neutral country, is absolutely appropriate in the face of genocide. At no time in the future does Ukraine have the luxury of being neutral. It has to be armed, no differently than Israel.
Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö (click here) has known Putin for a decade and often acts as a de facto interpreter, explaining the Russian president's thinking to Western allies – and vice versa. Niinistö is among a handful of world leaders who continue to contact the Russian president, trying to put a stop to the war. Christiane speaks with Niinistö in London to get a sense of Putin’s endgame.
