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The White House on Wednesday reinforced President Joe Biden’s surprise statement on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be committing genocide in Ukraine.
“The president was talking about what we all see, what he thinks is clear as day in terms of the atrocities that are happening on the ground,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said of the genocide comment.
She said President Biden’s administration would further assess whether it would undertake a formal review of the issue.
“Of course there will be a legal process that will be determined in the courtroom, but he was talking about what he sees, he has seen on the ground, what we have all seen in terms of atrocities on the ground.”
“Regardless of what you call it, our goal now is – as evidenced by the huge military aid package we have given today – to continue to help and assist the Ukrainians in this war, where we see the atrocities happening every day.”
President Joe Biden said for the first time on Tuesday that the Russian occupation of Ukraine constitutes genocide.
The determination of genocide by the State Department normally follows a rigorous internal process, but the final decision rests with the secretary of state, who assesses whether the determination serves American interests, officials said.
During an event in the state of Ayaya on Tuesday, while addressing the issue of the high price of energy caused by the war, President Biden hinted that he thought Vladimir Putin was committing genocide in Ukraine.
The US president’s comments were greeted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who encouraged Western leaders to use the term as a reference to what is happening in his country over Russian aggression. French President Emmanuel Macron declined to take his rhetoric that far during a comment made today (Wednesday).
“I am sober with the terms. Genocide makes sense. Ukrainians and Russians are brotherly peoples. It’s madness that is happening today. It is incredible brutality and a return to war in Europe. But at the same time I look at the facts and I want to continue the maximum efforts to stop the war and restore peace. I’m not sure if the escalation of rhetoric serves our causeSaid Macron.
The French president added that it has been proven that the Russian army has committed war crimes in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, praised President Biden.
“True words, from a true leaderHe wrote in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
“Giving things a name is essential to resisting evil. We are grateful for the assistance provided so far by the US and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further atrocities by Russia“, Further wrote Mr. Zelenskyy.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Biden as “unsuccessful in trying to distort the situation.”
According to a United Nations treaty to which the United States is a party, genocide is defined as actions taken with the intent to annihilate, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
In the past, American leaders have often avoided the term to formally define bloody campaigns as genocide, such as what Russia is doing in Ukraine, reluctant to push for an obligation under an international convention that requires its signatories to intervene in case of official identification of genocide. This obligation was seen as a reason that prevented President Bill Clinton from declaring as genocide the killing of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.
Genocide, considered the most serious international violation, was first used to describe the Holocaust. He was defined in 1948 as a crime under international law at a United Nations convention.
President Biden said it would be up to legal experts to decide whether Russia’s actions meet the international standard for genocide, as Ukrainian officials have claimed, but he added that what is happening in Ukraine is looks like that (genocide).
“More evidence is coming out about the horrible things the Russians have done in Ukraine and we will learn more and more about the destruction there. But we will let the lawyers decide whether or not it qualifies as genocideSaid President Biden.
Last week President Biden said he did not believe Russia’s actions constituted genocide, but merely war crimes.
During a trip to Europe last month, Mr. Biden faced controversy over a statement he made that apparently supported the need for regime change in Moscow, which would have represented a dramatic shift toward a direct confrontation with a country. another that has nuclear weapons.
“For that God, this man can not stay in power“, Said President Biden, referring to Russian President Putin.
But a day later, President Biden clarified his comments, saying he had expressed his moral outrage at the Russian leader and had not articulated any change in Washington’s policy toward Moscow./VOA
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