(Washington) Joe Biden on Tuesday appeared to downplay comments he made about Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with Time magazine, in which he said there was “every reason” to conclude that the Israeli prime minister was dragging out the war in Gaza for its own political survival.
This interview took place before the American president, whose relations with Mr. Netanyahu are notoriously complicated, announced a proposal presented as Israeli for a ceasefire in Gaza, and which was coldly received by the first Israeli minister.
Asked whether he believed that Benjamin Netanyahu was dragging out the war for his own political interests, Mr. Biden suggested that yes in this interview published on Tuesday.
“There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion,” he said.
But later Tuesday at the White House, the 81-year-old Democrat appeared to walk back his comments when asked whether Mr. Netanyahu was engaging in “political calculations.”
“I don’t think so, he’s trying to solve this big problem he has,” he told the press.
The American leader, however, admitted in the interview with Time to having a “major disagreement” with him over the post-war period in the Palestinian territory, and judged that Israel had behaved “inappropriate” during the conflict, sparked by a Hamas attack on October 7.
“My big disagreement with Netanyahu is what happens after the end of (the conflict in) Gaza,” the Democrat said. “What situation will (the Palestinian territory) return to? Are Israeli forces going back there? “, he continued.
“The answer is, if that’s the case, it can’t work.”
More broadly, the president, candidate for a second term in November, said he was better placed than his Republican rival Donald Trump to ensure that the United States remained “the world power”.
He thus criticized his predecessor, who threatened to undo traditional American alliances and moved closer to authoritarian leaders during his mandate.
“All the bad guys support Trump,” Mr. Biden said.
“Give me the name of one leader, besides (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor) Orban and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who thinks Trump should be the world leader in the United States,” he said. for follow-up.
Mr. Biden, who has made support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion one of the constants of his foreign policy, said he was better positioned than Mr. Trump for this defense to continue.
The Russian army was “absolutely decimated,” he argued.
But he downplayed the idea of Ukraine joining NATO.
“What peace looks like is making sure that Russia never, ever, ever, ever occupies Ukraine,” he said. “And that doesn’t mean NATO, (that) they’re part of NATO.”
Concerning China, with whom relations remain tense, the American president reiterated that the United States would stand alongside Taiwan, while saying that Washington was not trying to change the status quo.
“We are not seeking independence for Taiwan (but) we are also not going to fail to defend Taiwan if China tries to change the status unilaterally,” he said.
Domestically, despite polls showing voters are concerned about Mr. Biden’s age, the Democrat has insisted he is the better candidate.
“I can do better than anyone else,” he replied when asked if he was fit to govern for a full second term, at the end of which he would be 86 years old.
