US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem

The United States does not have a policy of regime change in Russia, American officials said, a day after President Joe Biden said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”.

“As you know, and as you’ve heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday during a visit to Israel. “In this case, as in any case, it’s up to the people of the country in question. It’s up to the Russian people,” Blinken added.