(AmericanProsperity.com) – US President Joe Biden accidentally addressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “Vladimir” during a July 12 NATO summit in Lithuania. Some European media outlets explained this was a delicate mistake as President Biden used the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is Zelensky’s main geopolitical foe.
In a press conference with the presidents of all NATO members, the US commander-in-chief said that “Vladimir and I, shouldn’t be so familiar.” He then noted he committed a mistake and immediately started to call the Ukrainian President “Mr. Zelensky.”
Far from being the first time he made this type of mistake, President Biden has been prone to gaffes during his presidency. At a press conference earlier this year, Biden asked if a representative who had recently died was attending the event. He has also confused Ukraine with Iraq, which has prompted numerous criticisms from Republicans and even some members of his own party.
The video of President Biden accidentally calling Zelensky “Vladimir” became viral on social media almost immediately. Many political analysts and famous journalists such as Piers Morgan blasted the commander-in-chief. However, some other users said this wasn’t a big mistake as the names of Putin and Zelensky are essentially the same, but are spelled differently.
In addition to Ukraine’s hypothetical membership, the main topic of the NATO summit was Sweden’s imminent inclusion in the military alliance. While the main obstacle was Turkey, Ankara recently announced it was supporting Sweden’s membership after reaching a deal with the Scandinavian nation. Some media outlets reported that the Swedish government accepted Turkey’s demand to stop supporting the Kurds.
Before the summit, President Biden met with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, congratulating him on the deal he reached with the alliance regarding Sweden. Different reports said that both leaders discussed efforts to enhance the relationship between Washington and Istanbul. The White House also published a statement where it said that both Turkey and the United States have common interests in terms of security and economy.
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