A gaffe by US President Joe Biden, who called Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin”, was “unfortunate”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.
Biden made the slip while introducing the Ukrainian president at the NATO summit in Washington, as he comes under increasing pressure to step down from the upcoming presidential election due to mental fitness concerns.
The mix-up happened just before Biden was set to give a press conference.
Albanese steered clear on whether the US president should step aside from the race but sympathised with Mr Biden, saying it happens.
“Everyone from time to time, I think, has made a slip – it clearly was on his mind who President Zelensky is fighting,” the prime minister told Brisbane radio station 4BC on Friday.
“But it certainly is unfortunate.”
Albanese said whether Biden stepped down or not was a matter for the US, but he did say the president was “on top of his game” when the pair met in Washington in 2023.
“[Biden] chaired a meeting of the entire cabinet … I had a long meeting with him in the Oval Office. We had a couple of dinners, including the official state dinner,” he said.
“He certainly was on top of international affairs, the AUKUS defence arrangements and our relationship, which is so important between Australia and the United States.”
AAP
Source link : https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/joe-biden-press-conference-live-updates-fresh-blow-for-president-ahead-of-make-or-break-moment-20240711-p5jsy5.html
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Publish date : 2024-07-11 21:12:28
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