Former CIA director and defense secretary Leon Panetta joined "Your World" on Monday to discuss President Biden's comments about whether Russian autocratic leader Vladimir Putin should remain in power.
Panetta told host Neil Cavuto that it should be up to the Russian people who their leader should be.
LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I think the bottom line is that the Russians will determine who their leader is going to be, and it's up to the Russians. I think the Russians are going to face a very difficult position because I think Putin is, without question, seriously weakened as a result of this terrible strategic decision that he made to invade Ukraine. It was a mistake. And I think ultimately he's going to pay the price for that.
Presidents Biden and Putin (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
The Russians and the Russian people will ultimately make that decision, right? I think that considering that Putin is virtually a dictator in Russia and that the Russians have kind of tolerated his leadership for a long time, it's going to take a real effort within Russia to be able to ultimately see if he's going to be replaced.
I don't think it's if it's a fait accompli that somehow Putin is automatically going to get kicked out of office by the Russian people.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Royal Castle, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022. Slawomir Kaminski /Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. POLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN POLAND.
It was the case when we were going after bin Laden that, you know, even though we would be successful, they would always try to get somebody to replace him. I understand that. But the fact is, if you can get rid of one bad leader, I think the chances are pretty good that the next leader, you might very well have a better relationship with in terms of trying to work out the issues that we have with Russia.
Look, we're living in the 21st century. This is a global world. I hope that ultimately in a global world, we can find a way to have a relationship with Russia that involves peace and prosperity.
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