Former KGB agent: Biden's comments are pushing Putin further away from negotiation table
Jack Barsky urges President Biden to tone down his rhetoric about the Russian leader, warning that Putin will take more drastic and deadly measures if he feels pushed 'into a corner.'
President Biden's perceived regime change comments are pushing Vladimir Putin further away from the negotiation table and could prompt the Russian dictator to show a greater display of force if he feels trapped "into a corner" by the West, a former KGB agent warned Monday.
"Every time our president makes a personal attack on Vladimir Putin, I cringe because Putin is paranoid," Jack Barsky said during an interview on "The Story." "In his mind now, it makes no sense to negotiate whatsoever because come peace, then he will be hunted down."
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a cabinet meeting via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
BIDEN SAYS PUTIN ‘CANNOT REMAIN IN POWER' AS HE ASSURES UKRAINE: ‘WE STAND WITH YOU’
Biden on Monday attempted to clarify a comment he made over the weekend where he insisted that Putin "must not remain in power," telling reporters that he was expressing moral "outrage," and wasn't calling for a regime change in Moscow.
Barksy said Putin will perceive Biden's rhetoric as a threat nonetheless, telling host Martha MacCallum, "You can walk that statement back a hundred times. It was out."
President Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, March 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
If Biden does not tone down his rhetoric and continues to fuel the Russian leader's "paranoia," Putin will seek stronger action that could result in even deadlier consequences, the former KGB agent warned.
Putin "has maneuvered himself in such a corner that he knows he’s a pariah. So why negotiate? When somebody like that is in a corner, watch out. He might actually go to weapons that nobody wants," he said.
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"The only thing that Putin has right now is to just keep on going," Barsky added. "It’s going to wind up in a quagmire. He may win the battle, but he will lose in the long-term."
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