Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with state television on Sunday (November 22) that he is ready to work with any U.S. leader, but that he cannot recognize Democratic candidate Biden as president-elect now that the results of the election are uncertain.
Putin said on Russian state television on 22 November, “We will work with anyone in whom the American people have trust, but this trust can be given only to candidates who have already been recognized as victorious or after the (election) results have been confirmed in a proper and legal way.”
Putin described the Kremlin’s decision not to congratulate Biden as a “courtesy” that had no ulterior motive and did not harm U.S.-Russian relations.
According to Bloomberg, the comments are the most detailed Putin has made since the U.S. election, and Russia, which is so far one of the few world leaders that did not recognize Biden’s 2020 victory, is cautious about the final outcome.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said on November 9 that Putin was awaiting the official results of the U.S. presidential election, after which he would congratulate the winner.
Peskov told RIA Novosti: “Anticipating that you may raise a question about (President) Putin’s congratulations to the U.S. president-elect, I would like to say that we think it is right to wait for the official announcement of the election results.”
Peskov noted that Putin was able to quickly congratulate Trump on his victory in 2016 because there was no legal dispute over the results of the U.S. election four years ago.
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