Biden calls Putin 'murderous dictator', 'pure thug'

Washington [US], March 18 (ANI)

US President Joe Biden on Thursday (local time) called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "murderous dictator" and a "pure thug" while speaking at the annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon on St. Patrick's Day at Capitol Hill.

"(Putin is) a murderous dictator, a pure thug who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine," Biden was quoted as saying by CNN. Earlier on the same day, in a meeting with Micheal Martin, the Taoiseach of Ireland, he said that "Putin's brutality and what he's doing and his troops are doing in Ukraine is just inhumane."

The strong remarks come just a day after Biden called Putin a "war criminal" during a press briefing.

"I think he is a war criminal," Biden had said.

Biden had initially said "no" when asked whether Putin was a war criminal but returned to a group of reporters immediately to clarify what had been asked. When asked again whether Putin was a war criminal, he answered in the affirmative, reported Sputnik.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that US President Joe Biden's remarks on Russian President Vladimir Putin speak for themselves when asked to comment on the remarks.

Kremlin had taken serious objection to Biden's "war criminal" remark with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying, "We consider such rhetoric of the head of state, whose bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, unacceptable and inexcusable."

The recent rhetoric from Biden is a significant escalation in his condemnation of Putin's actions in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday Biden's comments were "absolutely unacceptable and inexcusable," CNN reported.