Vice President Joe Biden simultaneously slammed and complimented Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday afternoon following a speech at the Brookings Institution on the crisis in Ukraine.
“Putin’s vision has very little to offer the people of Europe” or Russia but “false” promises of a past that “wasn’t all that great to begin with,” Biden told the audience. Biden said that instead of offering leadership and strong institutions, Putin just offers rhetoric and propaganda that equates saber rattling with strength.
After that blunt assessment, however, Biden credited the Russian leader with at least having some sensibility.
“At his core, he is practical,” Biden said in response to a question. Biden said Putin will push issues as far as he can, but will pull back if he thinks the fallout is too great. “If you look at his behavior, he’s a practical guy,” Biden added.
Biden pointed to the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran as an example of Putin’s rationalism. Many Putin watchers theorized that Russia would drop out of the negotiations as retaliation for Western economic sanctions against Russian businesses and Putin allies, which were imposed to punish Russia for its aggression in Crimea and Ukraine.
Biden dismissed that notion, and said a nuclear Iran is not in Russia’s interest and that given Putin’s penchant for pragmatism, he would stay the course.
The U.S. and Russia are “two mature nations with two tough leaders” who can work together in mutually beneficial areas, Biden said. The P5+1 talks, as the negotiations aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions are called, are good for both nations, he said.
The vice president said he doesn’t think Putin came to power with a detailed plan for world domination. But he said Putin’s military aggression is a form of opportunism, Biden said.
Many conservatives have argued that the Obama administration’s weak foreign policy and failure to stand up to Putin’s aggression is what gave Putin the opportunity to annex a portion of Ukraine.
Biden said the administration is not pursuing a policy of “regime change” in Russia. “We’re not looking to embarrass him; we’re looking for off-ramps that can lead him to act more rationally,” Biden said.
“And if he does not, we will continue to confront what I characterize as pure aggression.
