President Vladimir Putin has spoken out about the 2020 US presidential election as he refused to acknowledge Joe Biden as the winner.
As the Russian president insisted, Biden should first be recognized as the election winner either through official channels or by President Trump before Russia extends congratulations.
“We will work with anyone who has the confidence of the American people,” Putin claimed in a speech for state TV according to Bloomberg.
“But that confidence can only be given to a candidate whose victory has been recognized by the opposing party, or after the results are confirmed in a legitimate, legal way.”
While plenty of countries already recognized Biden as the winner of the 2020 US election, the Russian president said he will not be congratulating anyone due to “a formality” until the results are officially confirmed or until Trump concedes defeat.
As Putin expressed, he believes that it is clear to Americans, and everyone else around the world, that “there are some problems in the American electoral system.” As he acknowledged, however, the issues are none of Russia’s business whereas it is up to Americans to deal with them.
When asked whether his decision to delay congratulations could damage the relations between the two superpowers, Putin responded by saying that “they’re already ruined” and that “there’s nothing to damage.”
The announcement follows shortly after the Russian president’s spokesperson said that congratulations will have to wait “for the official announcement” because the situation surrounding the 2020 US election is “different.”
“Obviously, you can see that certain legal procedures are coming there, which were announced by the incumbent president — therefore this situation is different, so we consider it correct to wait for the official announcement,” Dmitry Peskov said.
“I remind you that Vladimir Putin said more than once that he will respect any choice of American people, and will be ready to work with any chosen president of the United States.”
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