US correspondent Jan Postma says a surprising element in Biden’s speech is that Putin was often mentioned by name. “It is therefore a clear reaction to the previous speech of his counterpart,” says Postma. “Putin is portrayed in the speech as the man with responsibility, which according to the American president does not belong to the Russian people.”
Speech of great importance
Before the speech, Postma said that the whole of America was looking forward to it. Foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg also points out that Biden’s speech is of great importance, because Putin ‘got hard’ in his speech. For example, the Russian president has suspended the disarmament treaty with the United States. “However, Putin is keeping the door ajar, because he is not annulling the treaty, he is suspending it,” Hammelburg explains.
In Biden’s speech, the suspension of the START treaty was not discussed. This is surprising, but also understandable, says Postma. “I guess Biden really wanted to keep the story about him. He wanted to underline that the West promotes unity and therefore also appeals to Europe ‘. According to Postma, Biden’s speech clearly shows that the West is still completely behind Ukraine, while Putin has clearly failed to achieve his goals. Kiev hasn’t fallen yet and Zelensky is still there, he was wrong.‘
“America First”
In his speech, Biden also thanked Poland, the country in which he gave the speech. According to foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg, that country has symbolic value, in part due to its direct location next to Ukraine. Furthermore, Biden has also appealed to his supporters in the United States. That makes sense, says Postma: “There’s still a lot of support for Ukraine in America, but there’s also a growing voice from opponents who think too much money is going to war.”
Biden insists that an attack on one is an attack on all. ‘
That ‘America firstthought is something Biden clearly factored into the speech. He wanted to emphasize that an attack on one is an attack on all. With this he wants to appeal to doubting Americans and make it clear that this war is everyone’s responsibility, ‘explains Postma.
‘Sandwich’
Journalist Laura Starink argues that Putin is, as it were, “framed” by Biden through this speech. This is mainly due to the unexpected visit that the American president paid to Kiev yesterday. “I think Biden’s visit to Kiev made even more impression in Russia than this announced speech,” Starink said.